


Four Pegasi

by AttackPlatypus



Category: Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, F/F, Fighter Pilots, Gen, Multi, Other, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-10-13 20:36:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17494928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttackPlatypus/pseuds/AttackPlatypus
Summary: An alternative universe where the Four Horsewomen are pilots in a game show of the future that pits starfighters against each other in a contest of skill and daring known as 'Sky Knights: The Contest of Tomorrow'Charlotte: Leader of a Sky Knight's team known as the Pegasi. Still grieving the loss of a teammate and struggling to uphold her family name.Sasha Banks: A hotheaded fly girl who is fiercely loyal to Charlotte and protective her team.Bayley: A member of the Pegasi and an aspiring humanitarian in a violent galaxy.Becky: The newest member of the Pegasi who must struggle to earn her teammates respect in a dangerous game.The Horsewomen will be joined in this story by familiar faces from wrestling past, present, and future.





	1. Chapter 1: The Pegasi

It seemed everyone in the galaxy had seen the infamous video by now. The garbled voices of the pilot's transmission forming a macabre soundtrack to the tragedy:

 

 _“_ _He’s still back there!”_

 

 _“_ I got the bastard AJ!-” 

 

 _*_ _Rapid cannon fire for several seconds*_

 

 _“_ ... DOWN IN FLAMES! Eat shit you bastard!  _”_

 

 _“..._ _Uh...guys?! I have a problem here!”_

 

 _“_ Oh quit your bitching, you just owe me a drink-  _”_

 

 _“_ _God damn it Sasha shut up! My controls are unresponsive!”_

 

**“Kill all power to your console! Give it a moment and then reinitialize your power distribution system! _”_**

 

 _“_ _I’m trying! It’s…*static*...system not responding!”_

 

“Forget it AJ! Bug out! Just eject we’ll replace the ship!”

 

 _“_ _*Static* trying...system…...-responding!”_

 

“AJ, bail out NOW! I’m contacting the officials to see if they can get a rescue tug out here!”

 

_“...can’t...I…*static*”_

 

**“ _AJ_!”**

 

“ Oh, the hell you do! You still owe me that fucking drink!” 

 

The scene shifted then to one of the three remaining function fighters diving steeply out of formation after the fourth. Both ships hurtled toward the ground over the unnamed moon at an angle that would severely strain their inertial dampeners.

 

The healthy ship, the one that had just dived, maneuvered with obvious care until its fuselage was directly underneath that of the first.

 

“Sasha! What the hell are you doing? Back off!”

 

“ _Shut up! I’m trying to concentrate!”_

 

 _“_ **Match officials confirm that rescue craft are inbound** ! _”_

 

 _“_ _They won’t make it in time!”_

 

“Fucking hell Sasha BACK OFF! That is a DIRECT order!”

 

_“News...flash...we’re not...in...the...fleet...anymore!”_

 

“DAMN IT SASHA! Bayley! Can you get to them with a tractor?!”

 

**“On it!”**

 

A second fighter dove from the circling formation leaving only one still in the holding pattern. This craft began screaming after the first two, though it made excruciatingly slow progress.

 

_“AJ! AJ come in! AJ!”_

 

**“Her dampeners are offline! In that dive, she’s probably passed out!”**

 

 _“_ _It doesn’t matter!”_

 

An audience of billions on thousands of worlds watched as the second fighter slowly brought it’s nose upward. Though they couldn’t hear it, the audience imagined that they could hear the sound of screeching metal as the two ships collided. There was no effect at first so the second fighter tried again. This time the nose of the first craft inched upward almost imperceptibly. It was then they all realized the insane plan on the second pilot’s mind.

 

She was trying to force the other craft’s nose upward to send it streaking up into the sky where it could be rescued. But at what cost? As with all SK broadcasts, a wireframe model of all the participant's crafts were displayed along the bottom of the screen. The fuselage of the second craft had been pulsing yellow and then orange, now it was solid red.

 

It was a deadly race to see which would happen first. Would the pilot be able to force her wingmate’s nose upward and send her teammate to safety? Would they simply run out of space and would both craft slam into the ground? Or would the second fighter’s hull simply give out and send it, in turn, crashing to the ground?

 

Billions held their breath.

 

“AJ!...IF….YOU….CAN...HEAR ME...NOW WOULD BE...A GREAT...TIME...TO...PULL UP! COME ONNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

 

With a screeching and grinding sound that no one heard but all imagined the fuselage of the rescuer's craft suddenly burst into a cloud of smoke and flame. It’s wireframe model showing that it had lost engine power and had a hull integrity of less than 30%. Without power but with both wings intact it could still glide after a fashion and it’s pilot put it into a long slow descent toward the planet’s surface. Few saw this last however as they had all turned to follow the fate of the first doomed craft.

 

For a time the insane gamble had seemed to work. The fighter’s nose had been lifted but without the other ship beneath to provide upward thrust it once again began to crash dive. Even as the third fighter streaked helplessly toward it, the craft went almost vertical.

 

“ AJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

 

The galaxy’s viewers head nothing a moment later as the craft slammed into the ground with sickening force. Then, there was nothing left but a scattering of debris, towering flames, and oily smoke.

 

\----------

 

As the guass-tram speed across Suplex City Becky Lynch was more nervous than she’d ever been. And this, seemingly, made no sense.

 

Becky was a decorated combat pilot who’d done three tours in the Night Wars. She’d been in lethal peril countless times. Moreover, she’d met it with coolly detached professionalism. But here she was prepared to faint over some simple introductions.

 

Like many military personnel after the Night Wars Becky had been demobilized and left without much to do with her skills. After a few years of trying more ‘normal’ civilian jobs, Becky had grown bored. Working as a mechanic simply hadn’t brought the same kind of intensity to her life that she’d always loved in the military. Then she’d been approached by the Sky Knights.

 

One unanticipated result of the militarization of a huge chunk of society during the night wars had been the militarization of its amusements. And of all of these new pass times, those involving starfighters were by far the most popular. Races, obstacle courses, endurance flying, trick shows, and, most popular of all, ship to ship combat. NOTHING thrilled crowds like seeing fighter craft twisting, turning, and diving in an attempt to gain that crucial position before they opened fire. The glory of the one pulling the trigger and the, often literally, spectacular defeat of their opponent.

 

In the beginning (after the 1st Night War) these combats had been done in earnest. This meant live weapons and the highest of stakes. However, as the 2nd and 3rd Night Wars had occurred the leaders of humanity had realized that losing scores of pilots during peacetime was not a sustainable model. So, rules had been imposed and these contests, the legal ones anyway, had been dubbed ‘Sky Games’.

 

Now, these games were conducted with simulated weaponry and under conditions made as safe as the sport would allow. Of course, this didn’t remove all danger from the game. This had been demonstrated most vividly by the event that was Becky’s reason for being here today. The death of AJ Lee.

 

Lee had been one member of the famous Sky Game’s team ‘the Four Pegasi’. This all-female group of pilots was one of the most continuously successful teams in all of human-settled space. All four women were experienced combat pilots who had joined the sport after mustering out of the starfighter corps.

 

Their flight leader was Charlotte Flair. Tall, blonde, with striking green eyes she was a corps recruitment poster come to life. A quadruple ace in her time in the service (meaning she had over twenty confirmed kills) she’d also been awarded numerous decorations and commendations throughout her tour. On leaving the military she’d shot up through the lower ranks of Sky Gaming at a record pace. When her father, eccentric multi-billionaire Ric Flair, had decided to create his own Sky Games team she had been the logical choice to captain it.

 

Joining Charlotte was her former service wingmate, Sasha Banks. Banks was actually credited with more confirmed kills that Flair during her service tour. But she’d been much less caressed by the military simply because she was chronically insubordinate. As a competitor she’d carried this over and made it a key part of her image, now she was known as the rebel of the Pegasi.

 

The next member was Bayley Martinez. A decorated flyer in her own right she didn’t have the kill record of either Banks or Flair. This was simply because she’d spent a fair portion of her time in the military as a rescue flyer. She was a skilled and deadly adversary but she’d grown famous in the games by focusing on tactics that allowed her to gain electronic control of another pilot’s craft rather than ‘destroying’ it.

 

AJ Lee had been the final member of the team. She’d actually been Flair’s commanding officer in the military but had consented to join the Pegasi and serve under her. Lee had been seen by the public as the steady veteran of the team and the voice of reason. Now that she was gone the whole galaxy seemed to be waiting to find out what the Pegasi would do to replace her. Some even though they might disband.

 

Not if Becky had anything to do with it...she hoped.

 

She didn’t actually know why she’d received an invite to come to pegasi headquarters for certain but she had hope.

 

Almost all legal Sky Games had long since come under the control of a company called ‘Sky Knights Entertainment’. Founded and owned by the McMahon family this company was responsible for staging events across space on hundreds of different worlds. In doing so it also had established and maintained a huge rankings system around its various teams and pilots. The problem was that there were literally thousands and thousands of individual pilots on hundreds of teams so some further classification was required.

 

Teams (and freelance flyers) within Sky Knight’s were placed within one of three tiers known as the Iron, Steel, and Titanium Cup respectively, named for their top trophies. By winning their tier a team could progress to the next tier if they wished. Conversely, finishing last in the rankings would mean a team would be sent down a tier.

 

Becky, who had only been flying in the games for two years, had been working as a freelancer (a pilot without a team) in the Iron tier. She’d consistently remained near the top of the rankings and had even begun to attract some notice from larger sponsors. But as it was she simply didn’t have the money to do the traveling that the Steel or, god willing the Titanium Cup demanded.

 

She’d fully expected to spend several more years slogging away before she would maybe join a Steel tier team. If she got lucky then they’d work their way up and eventually end up fighting for a Titanium Cup. But it had all been a pipe dream, an idle fantasy that she entertained herself with as she worked on her ship.

 

Then the call had come.

 

Becky had agonized over what to wear to this meeting. Should she treat it like it was any other job interview and dress up? Or should she go as a pilot? In the end, she’d opted for the former, just to be safe.

 

As surreal as the thought was to her...could she be here to interview for a team slot? Was she going to be the one who was tabbed to replace the legendary AJ Lee? COULD she even do that? Becky was fairly confident in her own skills but she wasn’t sure she was on THAT level. At least not yet.

 

When the tram finally reached her stop Becky got out and looked around. The street was full of hustling people and tall buildings loomed all around her. It was nonetheless very easy to spot the Pegasi headquarters. Among the skyscrapers, it was a low squat building formed of five interlocking rings in a dice pattern. As she approached Becky guessed that the central building was probably for offices and other support staff while the outer buildings looked like hangers.

 

Unlike the rest of the buildings in the area, there didn’t seem to be anyone going in or out of the Pegasi headquarters. Becky supposed this made sense, there wouldn’t be a lot of people who had a reason to just drop by. Stepping through the double doors Becky found herself in an enormous atrium whose most stunning feature was the trio life-sized fighter craft statues suspended from the ceiling in an anti-gravity field. Taking a second look Becky realized that, incredible as it seemed, they weren’t statues. These were three honest to god _Stardust-Class_ space superiority fighters. Each would have cost upwards of 10,000,000 credits, a damned expensive lobby decoration.

 

When she finally tore her eyes away from fighters she was able to inspect the rest of the space. The whole forward wall was made of large windows, these combined with the huge skylights let in a tremendous amount of natural light which illuminated green marble and black leather furniture everywhere. The only real splashes of color were the enormous sponsor logos on banners that were hanging from the ceiling.

 

Becky hadn’t realized that she had been walking slowly forward while she was staring around her. She was intently studying the banner for ‘Clex’s Interstellar BBQ’ when she collided with something hard. Looking down quickly she found herself staring at a small white robot hovering at about chest height.  

 

“Excuse me I-” Becky said automatically before closing her mouth, feeling foolish.

 

“Pardon me, I should have announced myself as I approached,” the small robot, which really looked like nothing so much as a floating tablet with thrusters on the bottom, responded politely.

 

“You can-” Becky started to ask, but again trailed off.

 

“Yes, I can talk. My name is Eve and I am a VI administrative unit,” the robot introduced itself.

 

“I see…” Becky said, not because she did but because she felt she should say something. She’d heard of VI’s of course but had never seen one up close. They were usually available only the wealthiest which she was not.

 

“Voice print recognized, I calculate a 99.97% probability that you are Rebecca Lynch and you have arrived for your meeting with Mr. Flair,” the robot said in a chipper kind of way.

 

“I...wait...where did you get a voice print from me?” Becky asked, flustered. A moment later she got her answer as the robot played a snippet of an old ad she had done for one of her sponsors.

 

“ _Me name’s Becky Lynch and when I need lubricants for me ship I trust Murdoch and Cade, the best in the business!”_ Becky cringed at the sound of her voice. The sponsor had wanted her to play up her Irish accent and she’d wound up sounding like a bad caricature.

 

“Okay, okay, you got me I’m Becky Lynch,” she said quickly, in case more audio was forthcoming.

 

“Excellent, please follow me,” the robot said as it rotated 360 degrees and set off on almost silent hover engines. The machine led her over to a bank of elevators where a pair of doors opened without an obvious cue. Becky then stepped inside after Eve and stood awkwardly for the short ride to the top floor. She was slightly uncomfortable, she almost never wore a skirt and heels even less often.

 

When the doors opened Becky stepped cautiously out into a very odd room. It was very small, almost truncated, as though someone had removed the other two-thirds of the room. The space had a light hardwood flooring and paira of chairs on either side of a small table pressed up against the wall with the elevator. Its dominant feature was an odd kind of barrier that you confronted as soon as you stepped out of the elevator.

 

Becky wasn’t sure how to describe it, it might even have simply been a wall, but she doubted it. The texture was off somehow. It wasn’t quite opaque but the dim forms she could see beyond it were completely unidentifiable. Whatever it was she somehow got the sense that if she touched it it would rippled like water, she she refrained from doing so.

 

Seemingly untroubled, Eve floated into the space and said: “Your next appointment is here Mr. Flair.” The robot seemed to be addressing no one. Becky was looking confused until she almost lept backward in surprise. The odd barrier in front of her had suddenly gone completely transparent before a slight shimmering in the air made Becky guess that it had vanished entirely. She was still looking up and gaping like an idiot when a voice made her gaze snap downward.

 

“Thanks, Eve darling, that will be all,” an older man with slicked back blonde hair said from where he sat behind an enormous desk. Becky knew him instantly, this was Ric Flair, the colorful public face of Team Pegasi.

 

“Of course, Mr. Flair,” the robot said before floating back into the elevator.

 

“Well now…” Flair said as she stood and walked around his desk to approach Becky with his hand out. He had an accent that Becky guessed originated somewhere in the American south but such things were hard to keep up with given how far humanity and spread. “Becky Lynch, it’s damned good to meet you ma’am! Come on in and have a seat,” he said in a jovial manner as he waved her toward one of the chairs in front of his desk.

 

Taking a quick look around Becky realized that the small space she’d seen at first was simply a small portion of Flair’s overall office. Now she could see it the place was so ornate as to be almost palatial. Despite this what really drew Becky’s attention were the other two people in the room.

 

Standing on her father’s right side was Charlotte Flair, looking statuesque and imposing. To Ric Flair’s left, half sitting on a low shelf, was Sasha Banks. Both women were clad in vaguely military looking flight suits and both were studying Becky intently. Well, Charlotte Flair was. Becky couldn’t help but notice that Sasha Banks seemed to be glowering at her. Swallowing heavily she took a few steps forward and sat in the chair that the elder Flair had offered.

 

“So, Ms. Lynch, can I call you Becky? Good! So, Becky, do you know why you’re here?” Ric Flair asked her as he took his own seat and withdrew a cigar from his jacket.

 

“Hey! You remember what the doctor said!” Charlotte hissed quietly at him.

 

“Aww relax darling, it’s not lit! See?” he said as he waved it for his daughters inspection before putting it back in his mouth.

 

“I...I don’t know sir, but I’m eager to find out,” Becky said, truthfully.

 

“Well…” Flair said, some of the energy leaving his voice “...I’m sure you heard we had a bit of mishap at our latest match and we lost one of our pilots.” Becky swallowed at this reference to the AJ Lee accident and noted that both Charlotte and Sasha were looking down now.

 

“I saw...I’m...I’m very sorry sir,” Becky said earnestly. She thought she heard Sasha Banks make a small noise but wasn't certain. In any case, her attention was on Ric Flair who gave her a solemn nod.

 

“All these girls are like my family Becky…” he said as he gave his daughter’s arm a squeeze “...and we’re not ever going to get over losing AJ here. BUT, AJ was a fighter and she’d have wanted us to move on and that means finding ourselves a fourth pilot.”

 

Becky noted that both Charlotte and Sasha’s expressions were most definitely stony now. It wouldn't have taken an expert to sense that there was some underlying conflict here but Becky couldn’t say exactly what it was.

 

“Are you...saying...that you want me for the job sir?” Becky asked cautiously, not daring to hope.

 

“Should I?” Flair asked her around his cigar as she stared at her with an expression that made her feel as though he was seeing past her exterior and to her soul.

 

“YES…” Becky said too loudly before clearing her throat and saying: “I mean...I’d be honored sir.”

 

Now Banks made an unmistakably skeptical sound, earning her a quick glare from Charlotte. Ric Flair didn’t seem to notice or chose to ignore it. Hitting a control on his desk a large hologram suddenly sprang to life off to one side even as the windows suddenly became more opaque, dampening the sunlight flooding into the room. Becky saw a large projection of herself from the shoulders up displayed next to a long list of information, all of it hovering mid-air.

 

“Let’s see now…” the elder Flair said as she reclined in his chair “...three combat tours, fourteen confirmed kills a double ace? Very nice. Good enough mechanic to be designated your squadrons field maintenance specialist, I like that-”

 

He was suddenly cut off by an angry outburst from his left. “IRON CUP? She’s a fucking IRON CUP FLYER?” Banks demanded as she hopped down from her perch, stalked past Becky without acknowledging her, and pointed angrily at another floating block of text.

 

“Sasha!” Charlotte snapped at her teammate.

 

“She hasn’t even fucking WON the damned Iron Cup, or even the MVP?! She doesn’t even have a team!” Banks growled. Becky felt her face burn at this but held herself in check. How was she supposed to win the Iron Cup, a team award, as a freelancer? As for the MVP, the highest individual honor, she’d been a top three finisher for the last two years. As there were thousands of individual pilots in the Iron Cup, that alone should have been a huge accomplishment.

 

“Go ahead girl, speak your mind,” Ric Flair encouraged the magenta-haired woman, not sounding angry but more resigned. Bank’s eyes narrowed as it seemed she was suddenly too apoplectic for words.

 

“This...NOBODY…” she finally said as she jabbed a finger almost directly into Becky’s face “...doesn’t belong on this team! Fuck, she doesn’t even belong in the Titanium Cup! And she will NEVER take AJ’s spot!” With that she stormed out of the room, hammering the elevators call button with far more force than was necessary.

 

“We’re not done here!” Charlotte Flair called after her but Banks just waved her off and a moment later was gone.

 

“I am sorry about that Becky, Sasha is...fiery and we love her for it but it can make her seem…’rough around the edges’,” Flair said, seemingly sincerely. Becky had another word for what she’d just seen but she didn’t share it.

 

“It’s alright, I understand her skepticism. But I’m a damned good mechanic and a great flyer and if you give me the chance I’d be happy to start proving her wrong right away,” Becky said, sensing that, while Flair might not have made up his mind, he was leaning toward her. She wouldn’t normally have spoken this aggressively to Ric Flair but the way he’d responded to Banks’ tantrum had convinced her that he appreciated it. Apparently, his daughter didn’t however.

 

“Why should we let you? There are hundreds of Titanium or Steel flyers that would love the chance to come to fly here. Why should we take the risk on you?” Charlotte demanded. Becky took a moment to think about her answer. She could respond forcefully again to try and score points with Charlotte’s father but that might alienate Charlotte. And IF Becky got this job, Charlotte, and not Ric, would be her immediate superior.

 

“Because the way I see it, we can have this conversation now or another one in a few years. This one could be when you hire me and your team stays the powerhouse it is. The other one could be us talking about the time you ALMOST hired me and how you wished you had,” Becky said, not challengingly but more as though she were simply stating a plain fact.

 

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and looked like she was about to speak but before she could her father laughed. “She’s got spunk, I like it,” he said, looking over at his daughter.

 

“Maybe, but spunk doesn’t win matches,” Charlotte said coolly.

 

“LOOK at those stats babygirl, 86.78% winning percentage. More importantly, when she’s been put on whore teams she’s over 90%! Becky here is a winner! And we like winners here,” Ric Flair said punctuating his statement by slapping his desk, apparently in excitement. ‘Whore teams’ were ad hoc teams of free lance flyers thrown together so another team could have a match. They were notoriously inefficient but Becky had done some of her best work on them.

 

“In the IRON cup,” Charlotte said quickly. But Becky thought she detected a hint of resignation in her voice now, as though she thought there was no point in arguing further.

 

“Ah hell Charlotte, so we knock 5-7% off each to adjust for competitive level, that’s still remarkable!” Ric Flair said dismissively. Privately, Becky wasn’t sure that this math worked but she wasn’t going to say so.

 

“We should still interview some more people!” Charlotte said insistently.

 

“No need, I’ve made up my mind. Becky is our girl, she might not be perfect right now but I know that you and the girls will make her a real Pegasi soon enough,” her father answered as she turned off the holoprojector.

 

“There are still dozens of candidates we need to-” Charlotte said quickly but she got cut off as her father turned to look directly at Becky.

 

“You want the job?” he asked her point blank.

 

“Yes, sir!” Becky said with all the force she’d once used when addressing superior officers.

 

“Alright then, I’ll send the paperwork to you. You’ll also need to tell Eve where you’re living now so she can have your things sent here,” Ric Flair said excitedly.

 

“My things?” Becky asked, confused now despite the overwhelming geyser of joy bursting inside of her.

 

“There are apartments here for the whole team, we all live here during our competitive season,” Charlotte explained in a tight voice. When she was done talking her lips pressed so firmly together that they almost vanished. Most teams didn’t compete year round, though Sky Knights did hold events constantly. Many would simply choose a two or three month period where they would elect not to participate in any matches.

 

“Oh, well OK then,” Becky said, a smile starting to spread across her face. One that she could have suppressed even if she’d wanted to.

 

“Charlotte take Becky down to meet Bayley and the rest of the team will ya, probably wat to hold off the formal introductions with Sasha though,” Ric Flair said.

 

“Of course,” Charlotte Flair said with a sigh as she walked around her father’s desk and then headed toward the elevator, beckoning for her to follow. Before she did however Becky stood and extended a hand toward Ric Flair.

 

“You won’t regret this sir, I promise!” she said enthusiastically.

 

“Oh darling I never regret having another pretty face around, but I know you’ll go out there and make proud in the cockpit too!” he responding happily as he shook Becky’s hand in an firm grasp. Turning then, Becky strode after Charlotte who was waiting by the elevators, still looking mildly disapproving.

 

The elevator ride down was much more awkward than it had been coming up. Charlotte was standing in a painfully erect manner as far to one side of the elevator as she could, studiously avoiding Becky’s eyes. This treatment, while not enough to kill Becky’s mood (nothing could at this moment), did dampen it a bit. They stood in silence for a while before Charlotte finally spoke saying: “You look very nice today.”

 

“Thanks,” was all Becky managed to say, the exchange was just painfully awkward. As though she’d received some sign Charlotte stepped forward and hit a control on the elevator that stopped the car.

 

“Look…” she said as she turned to look Becky in the eyes “...you seem nice and I apologize for how Sasha acted in there, she can be a bitch. And I am SURE you are a good pilot.”

 

“Thanks?” Becky said hesitantly, wondering why Flair was saying these things as though they were accusations. In response Flair held up a hand.

 

“BUT...I think you know that my father is reaching BADLY here. He likes to take risks, that’s how he operates. Everyone remembers the ones that work out big, but no one thinks all the other ones that failed. We just lost AJ and I know that it wouldn’t be fair to ask anyone to ‘replace’ her but bringing someone like you in…” here she trailed off as she closed her eyes and took a slow breath before adding: “...just...I’ll introduce you to everyone but don’t get too comfortable here. Cash your paychecks, enjoy the career boost, whatever but if you get attached it’s just going to make it harder on you and us when you have to leave.”

 

With that, she stopped speaking, hit the elevator control again, and turned away from Becky to look out the elevator windows down into the lobby.

 

Becky’s mood HAD been dampened.

 


	2. Chapter 2: Becky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky Lynch is introduced to her new team is forced to confront the possibility that she just might not fit in.

Becky Lynch told herself that she’d had worse days than this one. She couldn’t think of any at the moment but she kept telling herself that they’d happened. This was in an attempt to make her feel better about the last few hours.

 

It wasn’t working.

 

What made things even worse was the fact that these should have been the happiest days of her life. Becky had made it to the big time, she was flying in the Titanium Cup, the highest competitive level in Sky Knights. And what was more, she was a Pegasi! Officially.

 

Maybe.

 

She’d had her ‘interview’ to join the team a little over a week ago. After officially accepting the position she’d taken a quick shuttle back to Mars to see to grab some essentials then she’d hopped in her ship and zipped right back to Suplex City, one of the hundreds of so-called ‘space cities’ that orbited the Earth in giant bubbles known colloquially as ‘fish bowls’.

 

The name seemed perfectly appropriate to Becky.

 

She’d felt as though she’d been under a microscope from the moment’s she’d been cleared by Suplex City Control to enter the fishbowl. She’d then followed the Pegasi headquarters navigational beacon all the way into one of the building's four large hangers. As she’d guided her ship into the hanger to land the eyes had fallen upon her.

 

Even in her cockpit, she’d gotten the strong sense that she didn’t belong. The hanger crew all studiously avoided looking at her and even the controller she spoke with over the comm seemed stiff and formal. One of the reasons for this became apparent the moment she clambered out of her cockpit and dropped down the floor.

 

Painted in large letters along one wall were the words: Pegasi 3, AJ Lee. Next to these words was a large than life picture of the late pilot. Just below and to the right of this was the logo that she’d had painted on her ships, a stylized pink heart cracked in half with a cartoon skull and crossbones in the middle. Becky’s stomach went cold as she looked around and realized, this had been AJ Lee’s hanger.

 

The pilot, the legendary pilot at that, had been a member of the Pegasi from the beginning. As the famous Sky Knights team had grown and prospered it had always had the steady presence of Lee there to keep it grounded. At least that was how she’d been presented to her millions of adoring fans across space.

 

Lee had been killed in a tragic accident during the team’s last match, a death that had rocked the entire Sky Knight’s organization. The company liked to tout its matches as being as safe as it was possible to be but Lee’s death had drive home the grim reality of how dangerous the sport could still be.

 

AJ Lee tributes had flooded the omni-net in the weeks since her death. Fans across space had grieved, some declaring that the sport would never be the same. But amongst all of this outpouring of emotion one question had burned hottest. What would the Pegasi do now?

 

The team had always been a foursome or ‘flight’ in pilots parlance. The could choose to go on as a threesome but this would put them at a disadvantage in many matches. Speculation had run rampant about who might be the next pilot to don the legendary blue and gold colors of the team. Some fan’s even maintained that rather than try to ‘replace’ Lee, the team would just disband.

 

What Becky knew that almost no one else was that SHE was the answer the question.

 

Becky Lynch, a double ace during her combat flying days turned Iron Cup freelance flyer. The Iron Cup was the lowest tier of competition within Sky Knights, though it still featured many talented pilots. In her time there Becky had distinguished herself and had even finished in the top three for the Iron Cup MVP award for the last two years. But none of this seemed too significant to her now.

 

The Pegasi flew in the Titanium Cup, the highest level of competition within Sky Knights. What was more, they were one of the top teams in the Titanium Cup. The gulf that Becky was being asked to leap to join them was enormous. As had once been said by famous pilot turned commentator Robert ‘Gorilla Monsoon’ Marella: “It’s the difference between being asked to ride a bull or fly with one in your cockpit.”

 

As soon as Becky’s feet had hit the pavement her troubles had begun. She was just tugging off her flight helmet when a man had come hurtling out of a nearby office waving his arms and shouting at her. “No, no, no! What the hell are you doing?!” he’d demanded as soon as he’d reached Becky.

 

“I-” Becky stammered. The was a good deal taller than her with a muscular physique, buzzed blonde hair, and a sour expression on his face.

 

“LOOK!” he shouted angrily as he spun Becky around and pointed the hanger floor under her ship. There, standing out starkly on the otherwise pristine floor, were four charred black marks where her ship’s landing thrusters had scorched it. Becky’s face fell as she saw this, which was as nothing to how her stomach was plummeting.

 

“I’m sorry I...the control said to bring her in so-” she began to say without any clear idea of what she was going to tell him. Instead of answering her the man just pointed again. Becky followed the gesture with her gaze and saw, to her dismay, four clearly marked landing pads. She’d been so nervous and excited as she’d brought her ship in that she’d missed the entirely.

 

“Move your damned ship and get OUT of here,” the man snarled at her before stomping away muttering something about ‘hours of work’.

 

“I’m sorry!” Becky called after him, crestfallen. She wasn’t used to facilities of this caliber, or cleanliness. In the hangers she’d used in the Iron Cup the entire floor would be covered in scorch marks and it didn’t much matter where you landed so long as there was space. Sighing, she got back in her ship and, making sure to use only minimal thrusters, moved it to one of the pads.

 

This time no one came out to greet her when exited her craft. Becky had only been in the facility once before and had no idea where she was supposed to go at the moment. Looking around she saw only one door that looked like it led out of the hanger so she decided to try it. Tucking her helmet under her arm as she went, she pushed through the doors to find herself in a long hallway. A quick glance to one side revealed a small plate that read: ‘A. Lee’. This made Becky swallow, another reminder of the dead pilots constant presence.

 

Like the rest of the facility that she’d seen it was clean, modern looking, and lined with constant reminders of the Pegasi and their excellence. To either side of the doors she’d just come through there were large holo imagines of famous matches the team had been part of. Further down the hallway, she saw a large frame hung on the wall. Curious, she approached it and found herself looking at a pilot’s helmet. Under it was a small plaque that identified it as the helmet Charlotte Flair had been wearing during the team’s first ever match.

 

Becky stared at the helmet for several moments. It was fairly nondescript in itself, the kind of helmet you could find anywhere there were fighter craft. It’s only distinguishing feature was its paintwork. The base color was a light royal blue that seemed to flash in the light. Painted in two parallel lines of three over the crown of the helmer were six golden chevrons. On either side of the helmet were the golden wings that had become the trademark of the Pegasi Completing the helmet was a stencil across the brow reading: ‘Pegasi 1: C. Flair’.

 

“So you made it,” a voice suddenly said from behind her. Becky jumped and spun around with a guilty look on her face. She suddenly felt as though she’d been caught snooping on something private. Standing in front of her was the woman who had originally worn the helmet she’d been looking at, Charlotte Flair. The tall blonde was clad in the same flight suit that she’d been wearing the last time Becky had seen her and wearing an expression that suggested she was less than pleased but trying not to show it.

 

“Yeah I...yeah I’m here,” Becky said with a weak smile. Inwardly she was kicking herself for the stupid comment.

 

“Hmm…” Flair said with a thin smile. She didn’t speak for a few moments before she said: “Well, I said I’d introduce you so...let’s go do that.” She didn’t sound pleased, nor did she sound disappointed either. It was rather as though she simply had an unpleasant task to perform and was determined to get it out of the way.

 

“Great,” Becky said, trying to muster up more enthusiasm than she felt. Without another word Flair set off down the hallway, Becky had to hurry to keep up with the other woman’s long legs and quick pace.

 

“So I gather you’ve already met Bob Holly, he’s our head of maintenance and travels with us to matches,” Flair said wryly. Becky was glad that Flair was facing away from her because she blushed at this. She assumed that this had been the man who had confronted her in the hanger.

 

“Yeah, we...um...we met,” she said weakly. She assumed Flair knew the details of the encounter by now and decided not to try and offer any kind of defense. If Flair did know however she didn’t seem inclined to pursue the matter.

 

“I’m going to introduce you to Bayley first, I think you’ll agree that it would best if we kept you and Sasha separate for a while,” Flair said over her shoulder. Becky did happen to agree that it would probably be best that she stay out of Sasha Banks’ way at the moment but another part of her bridled. If they were going to be teammates they’d have to work their issues out. Then she remembered that Flair had made clear that she didn’t believe that Becky would be here long.

 

This sobered her up considerably and it it was a grim and silent Becky that trudged after Flair as the blonde led her along the long curving hallway. The part of her mind that wasn’t sinking into a depression made the observation that the hallway probably ran all the way around the complex, linking the hangers to the central building. Eventually, they reached a set of double doors that looked like the ones that Becky had exited her hanger through. To the right of these doors as a plate like the one Becky seen before except that this one read: ‘B. Martinez’.

 

Without knocking or otherwise announcing herself Charlotte pushed the doors open to reveal another hanger. As with the one Becky had landed in this one had a large painting on one well. This one said: ‘Pegasi 4 - Bayley Martinez and a picture of the pilot next to it. Unlike the stoic pose Lee had been painted in, Martinez was beaming at the viewer and giving a double thumbs up. Next to her image was her own logo, a small smiley face character with Martinez’s trademark side pony and arms thrown wide.

 

Parked on the four landing pads were four starfighters. Two were _Phoenix-Class_ space superiority fighters. These were the gold standard of combat craft with an almost perfect blend of speed, maneuverability, durability, and firepower. The Pegasi usually competed in these fighters, a fact that had no doubt been great for the manufacturer's bottom line. Each craft featured a cylindrical fuselage that came to a gentle tapering point at the nose while the aft displayed the craft’s powerful main engine. A pair of long secondary thrusters stretched past the main engine to either side. Finally, a pair of forward facing mandible style wings stretched out from the fuselage in elegant curves.

 

The other two craft were much less beautiful than the _phoenixes_ but they looked perfectly functional. One was a _Mako-Class_ attack craft. In contrast to the gold and blue of the _phoenixes,_ it was painted a brown and red that seemed to punch you after the soft aesthetics of the other ships. The _Mako_ wasn’t actually true starfighter (it had been designed to attack heavy targets) but it was small enough that it was still eligible for competition. Becky had watched several matches where Martinez had flown this craft when it had been deemed the best matchup for the Pegasi.

 

The final ship was a bit odd, seemingly out of place. It was a very old _Mustang-Class_ interceptor. The _Mustangs_ hadn’t seen combat in decades and had long since been relegated to museums and collections. This one certainly seemed to be in great shape but it couldn’t be there as a competition vehicle. Becky was still puzzling on this when Charlotte suddenly shouted.

 

“Bayley!” her voice echoed around the large hanger for second after she’d called out.

 

“Over here!” a voice shouted back from the far side of the _Mako_ . Charlotte beckoned for Becky to follow her and they set off in the direction of the answering shout. As they rounded the _Mako_ the voice shouted again saying: “WATCH IT!”

 

Charlotte grabbed the back of Becky’s collar and yanked her backward as what looked like a lightning bolt blasted past them at a distance of fewer than five feet. Even after it had passed the air still seemed to crackle with energy.

 

“GOD DAMN IT BAYLEY! A LITTLE WARNING WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE!” Charlotte roared as she released Becky’s shirt and looked warily around. Becky, who was still a bit shaken, looked around wide-eyed and found Bayley Martinez standing beside what looked like a cannon of some kind a few meters away.

 

“I DID warn you! AND you could have asked what I was doing before you barged over here,” Martinez shot back. She seemed to be wearing the same flight suit as Flair but it was peeled down to her waist to reveal a black tank top. Her features were hidden by a large pair of welding goggles that made it appear as though she were wearing a camera lense on each eye.

 

“I OWN the damned building! I can go where I want,” Charlotte countered sourly.

 

“No…” Bayley said patiently as she turned back to her cannon “...your DAD owns the building, you just work here.”

 

Charlotte rolled her eyes but obviously decided to drop the issue as she asked: “What are you doing?”

 

“This is that project I was telling you about!” Bayley said excitedly.

 

“When?” Charlotte asked, apparently forgetting about Becky as she approached the weapon cautiously. Bayley made an exasperated noise at this.

 

“Two days ago! When we were eating dinner! You and Sasha were talking about something and I mentioned it,” she said off handedly.

 

“You mean when we were arguing over her latest bullshit? You thought THAT was the best time to bring this up?” Charlotte asked incredulously.

 

“It was when it was on my mind,” Bayley said dismissively as her head and shoulders vanished into the weapon’s innards.

 

“What’s so special about it?” Charlotte asked in a tone of professional curiosity.

 

“It’s a directional EMP cannon!” Bayley called happily from inside the weapon.

 

This brought Becky’s eyebrows shooting upward. EMP was one of the more effective ways to bring down enemy craft of all sizes. When deployed correctly they could cripple a target’s electronics and leave them terribly vulnerable to capture or destruction. The problem was that they functioned like explosives, there was no way to really direct their blast. Usually deployed as bombs or mines the best an attacker could do was deploy them and get the hell out of the way. As she worked out the implications of this weapon she whistled softly.

 

This noise seemed to remind Charlotte of her presence and the blonde’s expression became stony again. “Bayley, could you come out here please, I have someone I want you meet,” she said in a stiff voice.

 

“Just a moment, I...almost…” Martinez called out to them.

 

“Settle in, it could take a while,” Charlotte told Becky before she began to exam her nails. Sure enough, Martinez didn’t reappear from the cannon for several minutes.

 

“Got it! That should fix the overloads I’ve been having,” she said happily as she brandished what looked like a burnt out capacitor.

 

“Bayley Martinez, this is Becky Lynch, she’s...the new pilot that my father brought in to….well to fly with us,” Flair said tonelessly. Though Becky couldn’t see Martinez’s eyes due to the goggles she got the impression that the pilot blinked several times after she turned to look at Becky, who did her best to muster a weak smile.

 

“Hey! Hi! Welcome, Becky! I’m Bayley, it’s really nice to meet you,” she said with every appearance of authentic enthusiasm as she hurried over and extended a gloved hand which Becky shook. She relaxed somewhat at this, the first friendly greeting she’d received.

 

“Nice to meet you, I was...err...I am a big fan,” Becky said, awkwardly. _Stop acting like a fangirl_ she ordered herself inwardly.

 

“That’s cool! And very flattering thank you! But I bet you’re one hell of a pilot yourself if you’re here,” she finished eagerly as though hoping Becky would tell her some war stories.

 

This put Becky in an awkward spot. She certainly didn’t think of herself as a BAD pilot but her achievements since leaving the fleet were dwarfed by those of Martinez and the other Pegasi. She wasn’t sure how much she COULD boast without seeming ridiculous. This conundrum must have shown on her face because Martinez injected quickly.

 

“BUT you can tell me all about it later, so what do you think of our place so far?” she asked with the air of someone hurrying past an awkward moment. Unfortunately, Flair, who either hadn’t been paying attention or was simply feeling vindictive, chose this moment to step in.

 

“Becky has been flying in the Iron Cup for the last few years,” she said in a perfectly flat tone. Even Martinez’s resolutely good-natured face showed a flicker of surprise at this.

 

“Oh, well I’m sure that Ric has a good reason for bringing you in. He’s got a good eye for talent so you’ll do great I just know it,” she said, though her smile seeming a fraction less genuine now.

 

“Yeah, I’ll...I’ll do my best,” Becky said, her temporarily revived spirits dampened again. There was an uncomfortable silence as Martinez turned to fiddle with some equipment on a cart. Becky was feeling more uncomfortable than she ever had and was very grateful when a voice suddenly came from all around them.

 

“Pilot’s report to the conference room,” the cool female voice announced, Becky guessed it was from a computer.

 

“Oh damn...I forgot we have a call with Regal,” Charlotte spat.

 

“Should I go change?” Bayley asked, she really was filthy.

 

“No time, he won’t care…” Charlotte said before seemingly remembering Becky was there and adding, grudgingly: “...you can tag along.”

 

“Thanks,” Becky muttered, feeling like a kid sibling who only got to join in when her parents made her old siblings include her.

 

“Let’s go then,” Charlotte said as she and Martinez began walking out of the hanger. Throughout the walk, Becky trotted silently along behind the other two women. Flair and Martinez kept up a steady talk about standings and sponsorships throughout. Martinez tried to include Becky once or twice but when it became clear that neither she nor Flair wanted this she gave up.

 

The conference area was actually the floor below the Flair offices in the main building of the headquarters. As soon as the elevator doors opened Becky gaped around in awe. The only comparison she had for the place would have been the bridges of the various warships she’d been stationed on in the military. Terminals lined the walls while the center of the room was walled off by glass partitions and contained what looked like an honest to god quantum entanglement communicator.

 

Becky was so caught up at looking around her that she didn’t notice their company until a sour voice said: “What hell is SHE doing here?”  Feeling her insides sink Becky turned to see Sasha Banks standing a few meters away with her arms folded and a dark expression on her face.

 

“She’s been getting the tour,” Charlotte explained wearily.

 

“Well the field trip’s over sweetie, get lost,” Sasha snapped at Becky.

 

Becky had been determined to make the best possible first impression that she could. She’d resolved to be patient and forbearing, listening more than she talked. But she was not the most long-suffering of women and after the day she’d had she wasn’t in any mood for this. She was drawing breath to retort when Martinez jumped in.

 

“Sasha…” she said in a placatory tone “...if this meeting is for pilots and she’s going to be flying with us she-”

 

Banks cut her off snapping: “It’s for TEAM MEMBERS and she ISN’T ONE!”

 

“If Ric wants her-”

 

“SHE...DOESN’T...BELONG….HERE….BAYLEY!”

 

“Enough!” Charlotte snapped as she closed her eyes and blew out a slow breath. There was a long pause before she reached into one of her flight suit pockets and withdrew a datapad. Turning to Becky she said: “This is your access information to your apartment here in the building. If you need instructions on how to get there just ask for Eve and she’ll direct you.”

 

Banks’ face showed malicious triumph at this as Martinez said: “Charlotte-”

 

Flair held up a hand and said, in a gentler voice: “If there’s anything important for you I promise I’ll tell you myself. But you must be tired from your flight so why don’t you go grab some rest. The chow schedule is on the pad. We’ll see you at dinner.”

 

With that, she turned toward the conference room. Banks shot Becky one last nasty look before following. Martinez, clearly torn, looked back and forth for a few moments before she gave Becky an apologetic smile and hurried after her teammates. And that was the real key wasn’t it. Banks and Flair were her teammates, not Becky. Becky was an interloper.

 

Feeling absolutely dejected Becky slunk out of the conference area and into the elevator. She felt like crying but swore she wouldn’t, not in public. Checking the datapad she found the information Flair had indicated, though she had no idea how to the place indicated.

 

“Umm...Eve?” she asked, feeling foolish. A moment later she jumped as a glowing blue orb appeared in mid-air beside her.

 

“Hello Ms. Lynch, are you enjoying the facility?” the VI asked.

 

“How…” Becky started to asked but found she didn’t know how to finish the question.

 

“Are you curious as to how you are interacting with me in the absence of my physical body?” Eve prompted her.

 

“Yeah, pretty much,”

 

“The body you interacted with previously is the main housing for my program, however, as long as I am in this facility and linked to its internal systems I am able to manifest like this anywhere inside.”

 

“I see...well...that’s handy I guess,” Becky said, impressed despite her mood.

 

“Indeed, was there something I can assist you with?”

 

“Oh yeah, can you take me here?” Becky said as she held up the pad for Eve’s inspection.

 

“Indeed, please follow me,” Eve said as the elevator, apparently on its own, began to descend. The ride was a short one and in no time Becky was stepping out into yet another immaculate hallway. She trotted after Eve for a short time before the glowing orb came to a stop in front of a non-descript door.

 

“Is this it?” Becky asked, looking at the door dubiously.

 

“These are the quarters Ms. Flair instructed that your effects be sent to,” Eve said.

 

“Well, OK then,” Becky said heavily, wondering how long she’d be occupying them.

 

“It is curious,” Eve said, surprising Becky.

 

“What is?”

 

“Mr. Flair has indicated that you are to be considered the newest member of the Pegasi, and yet you are not to be assigned Ms. Lee’s former quarters over her former hanger. Perhaps there has been an oversight, shall I raise the matter with Ms. Flair?:

 

Becky’s mouth had gone ashen and suddenly it was hard to speak. “No...no I think...there was no mistake made,” was all she managed to say.

 

“Very well, is there anything else I can do for you, ma’am?” Eve asked, unaware of the turmoil she’d caused.

 

“No...thank you Eve…” Becky said, just barely keeping herself from sniffling.

 

“Of course,” the VI said before fading from existence.

 

Becky used her datapad to duck into the room and shut the door quickly behind her. When she had she slumped back against it and slid down to a sitting position. Her dream, the thing she’d never dared allow herself to believe in, was turning into a nightmare before her eye’s. The worst part was that she didn’t know what else she could have done. She’d come here in all good faith ready to work as hard as she had to. But it seemed that the game had been rigged from the beginning.

 

She was doomed. Doomed to go down in history as a footnote in the glorious history of the Pegasi. She would forever be known as ‘that one girl’ who had dared to stand in the shoes of AJ Lee and had been duly smacked down for her effrontery. Whoever they picked after her would go down as ‘the right choice’ in contrast to that failure Becky Lynch.

 

Becky rarely cried, hardly ever in fact. But a few tears dripped down her cheeks now. She sat hard floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, and cried for several minutes. Eventually, though, she forced herself to stand and make her way over to the room’s small bed. She’d noted that her duffle bag had been sent up to the room but she didn’t open it. Instead, she just lay down on the bed, facing the wall, and tried to forget about her whole life.

 

Maybe she succeeded too well because when the door chime sounded it jerked her out of a fitful doze. For a moment she was confused, trying to remember where was. Then the day's event’s came flooding back, along with a wave of despair. This was so intense that she was tempted to just try and go back to sleep. But then the door chimed again. Shutting her eyes tightly Becky resolved to ignore the door, one minor thing she COULD control when it suddenly opened.

 

“Becky?” Martinez's voice asked tentatively as light flooded into the room. Realizing it was futile to try to pretend to be asleep now Becky gave it a few seconds.

 

“Hi,” she said, trying to sound as though she’d just been awoken.

 

“I’m sorry for disturbing you but...you didn’t come down for chow and I thought you might be hungry,” the other pilot said nervously.  Becky closed her eyes tightly at this. She wasn’t sure what was worse, assuming that everyone hated her or Martinez’s, genuine, efforts to make her feel better. It would almost have been easier to deal with the situation if she’d known EVERYONE hated her.

 

When she finally rolled over Becky did her best to smile and said: “Thanks...I appreciate it.”

 

Martinez stepped toward with the tray she was carrying and set it on the rooms single table and then moved to sit at the foot of Becky’s bed. “Rough day huh?” she asked sympathetically.

 

“I don’t think that begins to cover it,” Becky said dully. Silence fell after that, a silence Becky didn’t have any inclination to break. She appreciated Martinez’s earlier kindness and what she was doing now but she still hadn’t forgotten how the woman had demonstrated that, in the end, she would side with Banks and Flair.

 

“Look…” Martinez said, finally breaking the silence “...I know it shouldn’t be me apologizing but I AM sorry for how Sasha has been treating you. I’m not going to make an excuse for her, it’s wrong, but she is a good person at her core.”

 

Backy let out a rueful chuckle at this that promoted Martinez to ask: “Did I say something funny?”

 

“No...well...yes kind of,” Becky said as she shook her head sadly.

 

“Well, which is?” Bayley asked with a smile.

 

“It’s just...you...you ALL...are just like I expected,” Bayley said.

 

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not…”

 

Becky sighed and then said: “I was...AM...a huge fan of yours, of all four of you. I have over a hundred hours of your matches saved in my personal cloud. I used to make sure I freed up time to watch your matches as they aired on whatever world I was on. Hell, I even studied your techniques and they helped me be a better pilot.”

 

Bayley smiled softly at this but didn’t respond.

 

“I don’t know if you remember…” Becky said musingly “...but during a match with the Wyatt Flyers you were flying the _Mako_ and you ended up with both Harper and Rowan on your six. I thought for sure you were about to get tagged and eliminated. But then you did something insane. You killed your engines midflight and then yanked your nose up as you fell. You stitched both Harper and Rowan as they flew by overhead and then STILL managed to reinitialize the engines before you crashed. “

 

“I remember, Charlotte was furious,” Bayley said with the same soft smile. Becky kept talking as though she hadn’t heard.

 

“I practiced that move for weeks, taking my ship to a low gravity moon whenever I could. I did a TON of damage to her. But I never quite got it. But each time I failed I tried to think of what you would tell me, based on how Sky Knight’s presented you. And I decided that I couldn’t quit.”

 

“Well I’m glad I could be a positive influence,” Bayley said encouragingly. Becky nodded.

 

“The thing was, I’d never met you and didn’t think I ever would. Dreamed about it sure, but it was all just make believe. All I knew about you was what I saw in the omni-net. But even that little bit convinced me that you would have told me I could do it. Because Bayley Martinez was always the kind encouraging one,” she explained.

 

“I try,” Bayley said with a soft chuckle.

 

“But the thing is...here you are being so nice to me, kind AND encouraging. You are just like I always pictured you. Sasha Banks is tough as nails and kind of a bitch. Charlotte Flair is impenetrable but just radiates charisma and calm. You’re all JUST LIKE I used to picture you. But, in my private fantasies, where I was here too, I was one of you, I would always fit in. But...I never imagined that if I actually got here I would so obviously NOT belong,” Becky trailed off despondently.

 

“Give it time Becky, you’ve only been here a day. I know Sasha’s being rough but she’ll come around. I-” Bayley started to say but she stopped when Becky looked over at her. Even in the low light, it was obvious she was distraught.

 

“Listen, Bayley, I really appreciate that you came here and thank you for the food. But, if you don’t mind, I think I’m just going to go to bed,” she said quietly. The pause that followed this made Becky think that Bayley wanted to argue but in the end, she didn’t.

 

“OK...I understand…” the other pilot said quietly “...chow is 0800 tomorrow morning and we have a simulator run planned for 0930.”

 

“Thanks....I’ll...I’ll be there,” Becky said. Bayley nodded, put a hand on Becky’s shoulder and then stood to leave. She picked up the tray of food as she went and when she was almost at the door she paused as Becky asked: “Bayley...do you think I belong here?”

 

Martinez didn’t speak for a long time but eventually said: “It doesn’t really matter, does it? Do YOU think you belong here?” And then she was gone.

 

Becky knew what she’d been trying to say and even appreciated it. But she also couldn’t help but notice that she hadn’t answered her question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pegasi started as a small plot porg in the back of my head. Now my brain is teeming with ideas about what I can do with it and how. I hope you'll all take the journey with me! 
> 
> We're just starting out so this is everyone's chance to get in on something good on the ground floor! I'd be honored if you'd hit that bookmark button and even more so if you'd consider chatting with me down in the comments!
> 
> What about today's chapter? Poor Becky, she finds herself being forced to make the best of a situation she didn't create and yet can't escape. Do any of you have some theories as to WHY Sasha is being so hard on her? Or is it just what she says? What about Charlotte? What stormy seas lie underneath her calm exterior? Can Bayley keep the piece among the Pegasi?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Becky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky begins her first day as a member of the Pegasi, still having to run uphill to earn her teammate's respect.

It had been many years since Becky Lynch had been in High School and yet entering the Pegasi Headquarters Mess Hall that morning made her feel just like that. Specifically, she felt like the new girl who wasn’t yet sure where she was supposed to sit in the cafeteria. 

 

Aside from the pilots themselves, only a few support staff actually lived at the headquarters. Most of the staff commuted but many of them still chose to eat breakfast here. When she entered the large room at 0730 most of the tables were filled. But just as she did, in a scene straight out of a bad vid, most eyes turned to stare at her.

 

Becky smiled weakly before hurrying over to the food line. Taking a tray she walked up the serving counter only to gape. The holo menus listed more foods that you’d find on a pleasure world casino buffet. The choices were so numerous that she was forced to make a panicked impulse choice when she realized that an impatient queue was beginning to form behind her.

 

“I’ll take the Hawaiian breakfast!” she blurted to ordering computer. 

 

“ _ Please retrieve your food to the right,”  _ was all it said in response. Walking a few meters in that direction Becky found a small plate containing eggs, rice, and some kind of meat she didn’t recognize. Further to the right, she found a beverage bar where she poured herself a generous cup of tea. The easy part now done, she now turned to face the cafeteria.

 

It felt like turning your ship into the sustained cannon fire of an enemy capital ship. 

 

Part of the trouble was that the only person she’d actually interacted with, besides the pilots and Ric Flair, was Bob Holly their head mechanic. As this interaction had been mostly him shouting at her for ruining a hanger floor she didn’t think he’d be a good bet for a dining companion. Sighing, Becky decided to just do what was probably inevitable and just pick an unoccupied table where she’d sit by herself.

 

Picking one in the far corner she sat down with her back to the wall only to find her appetite had fled. She poked at her food and took a few small sips of her tea but little more. She decided to take out the datapad that Charlotte had given her the day before to study more of the information on it. She was just beginning to read about fire emergency procedures when someone spoke near her.

 

“Good morning!” Bayley Martinez said. As usual, the woman seemed to be radiating sunshine and good cheer. 

 

“Morning,” Becky said, trying to match the other pilot’s energy but failing badly.

 

“You don’t have to move if you don’t want to but the pilots usually sit over there,” Martinez said as she nodded toward a table in the far corner of the cafeteria, presently unoccupied.

 

“Thanks but...I don’t want to intrude or anything where I’m not welcome,” Becky said, working overtime to keep any bitterness from her voice at this. Martinez seemed to understand, judging by the look on her face, but she also persisted.

 

“Don’t be silly, you’re a pilot so of course, you’re welcome at the pilot’s table,” she said as she picked up Becky’s tray and set it on top of her own. “Besides…” she added “...I think the security staff will be a bit annoyed if they find you in their spot.”

 

Closing her eyes and mentally preparing herself Becky nodded and put on a weak smile saying: “Of course, lead the way.”

 

As they made their way across the cafeteria Becky thought even more eyes turned to follow her this time. The impression she got, or fancied she did, was ‘doesn’t she even know where to sit’? When they reached the table Becky sat on the bench next to Bayley and tried to avoid any other sets of eyes in the mess hall.

 

“What’s that?” Bayley asked curiously as she pointed at Becky’s food.

 

“Oh, umm I think it’s called the Hawaiian breakfast. I wasn’t really paying attention when I ordered,” Becky muttered. 

 

“Oh! I’ve seen that on the menu but never had the guts to order it, you’ll have to tell me how it is!” Martinez said eagerly.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Becky said quietly.

 

“I’m kind of a prisoner of my routine I admit…” Martinez said as she nodded at her own food “...french toast with fresh fruit and orange juice. Maybe you saw but I get it so much it’s actually called ‘the Bayley’ on the menu.” she finished speaking with a laugh that Becky did her best to meet with a smile. More to give herself something to do than out of actual hunger she cut a small corner off the mystery meat and took a bite before almost gagging.

 

“That good huh?” Martinez asked. 

 

“It’s...it’s very salty,” Becky said, taking a large sip of tea to try and clear her mouth. Martinez frowned and gestured with her fork.

 

“May I?” she asked, Becky waved her on and she cut an experimental scrap for herself. She tasted it gingerly, still frowning. After some slow chewing she swallowed and said: “Yep, that’s SPAM. No wonder it’s so salty.”

 

“What the hell is SPAM?” Becky asked.

 

“Something we probably should have evolved past as a species many centuries ago…” Martinez joked before explaining: “It’s canned ham basically.”

 

“Lovely,” Becky muttered, resolving not to eat any more of the vile stuff. Before she could say anything else they were joined by the other two members of the Pegasi, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks. Becky clammed up at this, feeling suddenly awkward as though she were intruding. Banks had made no secret of her disdain Becky and Flair hadn’t exactly rolled out the welcome mat herself. Becky was actually starting to rise when Martinez’s hand clamped down her forearm.

 

“If you leave now they’ll never let you back here,” she whispered quickly before turning to face her teammates and saying happily: “Good morning you two!”

 

“Morning Bay...Lynch,” Flair answered, her greeting to Becky being much stiffer and more formal than had been the one for Martinez. Banks didn’t respond at all but just put her food down with a bit more force than was necessary and glowered at Becky.

 

“Everyone excited for sim practice?” Martinez asked the table. There was a simulator run scheduled for after breakfast. All pilots who had spent any time in the military had spent as much if not more time in simulators than in actual cockpits. This only made sense of course, in a sim they didn’t risk themselves or valuable equipment. 

 

“Hmm,” Banks just grunted at this. She was wearing sunglasses inside for some reason and only eating some dry toast to go with a large cup of coffee. Becky guessed she was looking at the plot’s hangover cure.

 

“Well ‘hmm’ to you too sunshine, was someone out too late again last night?” Martinez asked dryly.

 

“Whatever,” Banks muttered.

 

“You’ve gotta cool it with that stuff Sasha, you’re going to burn yourself out,” Martinez pressed, now sounding earnest.

 

“Drop it, Bayley, OK?” Banks snapped.

 

“Both of you relax, it’s too early for this,” Flair said resignedly. She stirred her oatmeal for a few moments before she seemed to decide she ought to talk to Becky as well. “I had our crew scan your ship and input its data into our sims. We’ll start you on runs using your own ship and then we’ll work you up ours.”

 

“Thank you,” Becky said, forcing herself to look the other woman in the eyes as she did.

 

“What do you fly?” Banks demanded brusquely. This was, sadly, the most civil comment she’d ever made to Becky. 

 

Becky felt her stomach sink as she guessed the likely reaction to the answer she’d have to give. “A dart-4,” she said, again forcing herself to look up as she spoke. Of course, the lenses of Banks’ sunglasses gave away nothing. But the sneer that touched her lips spoke volumes.

 

“Of course you do,” she said before returning her attention to her coffee, her scorn was obvious.

 

The  _ Dart-Class starfighters  _ were ubiquitous throughout settled space. At one point the product line had been military quality but it had since fallen into civilian use. Dart’s were often viewed as ‘starter ships’ for new pilots or the only option for more experienced ones who simply couldn’t afford better. Becky had been flying hers since she’d joined Sky Knight’s and it had served her very well. But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t look particularly pitiful next to the gleaming Phoenixes of the Pegasi. 

 

“Classics become classics for a reason,” Martinez jumped in, obviously trying to make Becky feel better, but succeeding in doing the opposite.

 

“Whatever the case!...” Flair cut in “...we’ll see how you do after breakfast.”

 

The conversation for the rest of the meal was desultory and most took the form of Martinez offering questions to each of her companions, in turn, hoping to spark a discussion only to receive short answers. It was probably the most uncomfortable meal Becky had ever been part of and she was forced to hide in her food more than she would have wished. She was even considering eating the SPAM when Banks suddenly stood.

 

“I’ll you two down at the sims,” she said, pointedly only addressing Flair and Martinez. She then looked over her shoulder and said to Becky: “And you? Bus this,” before she slid her tray across the table. It bumped into Becky’s own tray which very nearly dumped its contents into Becky’s lap.

 

“Sasha!” Martinez snapped.

 

“Banks! Ease off!” Flair echoed. 

 

She locked eyes with her teammate for a few moments before Banks said: “Whatever,” and walked away.

 

When Flair turned to look at her Becky sighed and said: “You don’t need to apologize for her, I know you both feel bad about that.”

 

Flair nodded solemnly and then stood herself saying: “Before you come down to the sims, stop by the quartermaster and they’ll get you a flight suit. Bayley, can you take her?”

 

“Sure,” Martinez said before turning a grin on Becky. At this point though Becky was past trying to return them. She finished her breakfast with Martinez in silence and just nodded with the other pilot suggested they get going. After busing her tray, and Banks’, she fell in behind Martinez as the other pilot led the way out of the mess hall. 

 

“The quartermaster provides us with all our basic gear when we’re here or on tour,” Martinez explained, the last phrase referring to when the Pegasi traveled to matches in different systems.

 

“Got it,” Becky said dully. She wasn’t sure if Martinez was just nervous and talking to fill the silence or if the other woman thought that Becky herself was dense. What the hell else would a quartermaster do?

 

Fortunately, the walk wasn’t long. It turned out that the Quartermaster was located on the same floor as the mess hall. When Martinez finally led her through some double doors with that title written over them Becky was once again surprised. The room was sparse concrete, in contrast, the frankly beautiful interior of the rest of the building. It was long and rectangular with shelves running its length in six perfect rows. Becky also noted that all the shelves had were enclosed in their own security grates. 

 

Bayley led her all the way to the far end of the room to where there was a small window, also screened by a grate, set into the grey wall. Standing on the other side of the grate was a muscular man with long blonde hair and a supercilious expression. 

 

“Hi, Kurt! How are you?” Bayley asked the man brightly. 

 

“Martinez,” the man said curtly before giving Becky a suspicious look. Martinez followed his gaze and said: “This is Becky Lynch, she’s our new and she needs her kit. Becky, this is Kurt Henning, he’s our Quartermaster” The man barely acknowledged Becky’s weak greeting before assuming an expression which suggested he was both mortally offended and very suspicious. 

 

“One WHOLE new pilot’s kit? She didn’t bring anything?” he asked, completely ignoring the fact that Becky was standing right there.

 

“I have SOME stuff coming-” Becky started to say but Martinez cut her off.

 

“CHARLOTTE says she needs her kit, Kurt,” she explained. Her smile never once wavered but Becky got the sense that there was some steel showing now. Kurt seemed to consider arguing again but in the end, he just muttered something mutinous before turning around and disappearing from the window. 

 

“He’s a brilliant QM, an organizational perfectionist…” Martinez said in a low voice to Becky “...but he tends to treat anyone asking for anything like a plunderer.’

 

“Well...I suppose that keeps inventory from walking off,” Becky said, using the common military phrase for the tendency of certain stores to simply vanish.

 

“That’s part of the reason why he’s here,” Martinez acknowledged. Just then a door to the left of the window opened and Henning appeared. Without speaking he beckoned for them to follow him before setting off down the long row of shelves. The next few minutes were spent moving between different shelves, each stop yielding another parcel for Becky to carry. By the time Henning shooed them out of his kingdom the both had an armful. 

 

“Why don’t we take these back to your quarters, then you should have time to change before we have to be down at the sims,” Martinez suggested.

 

“OK, and thanks for helping,” Becky told her. 

 

“Don’t mention it, you’re actually kind of lucky. When I was doing this none of us had any idea of what we were doing. There wasn’t anyone to help,” she said with a smile.

 

“Yeah, lucky, “ Becky said non-committally. Martinez seemed to sense the thoughts behind this comment and gave Becky a sympathetic smile.

 

“I know it probably doesn’t feel like it, but you made some progress this morning with them,” she said.

 

“I”ll have to take your word for it,” Becky muttered.

 

When they reached her quarters Bayley said she’d wait outside while Becky went in to change. Thanking the other woman again, Becky did so. Unwrapping one of the larger parcels she found that it was her very own Pegasi flight suit. She held it up and just stared at the blue and gold pattern for a long time. She’d spent so many nights, so many private moments, dreaming of the day when she would don these colors. And now here it was, and it felt nothing like she’d imagined. 

 

When she finally emerged from her quarters she was in a flight suit, but it was the forest green one she’d always worn previously. Martinez took a look t her and furrowed her brow but one look at Becky’s expression obviously convinced her not to press the issue. She then followed Martinez as she took Becky down into the bowels of the facility. Becky estimated they were four to five stories underground when they finally emerged from the elevator. 

 

The space they emerged into was very dark and it took Becky’s eyes a moment to adjust. Martinez seemed to know where she was going however and she led Becky to one corner where she hit a control which activated a bank of lights. These illuminated a state of the art ‘battle-pod’ combat simulator. Becky was in awe, she’d never heard of any non-military outfit even possessing them. Most simulators tended to resemble rectangular boxes mounted on an arm that could elevate, turn, or twist the simulator as needed. However, given the nature of the design, their over movement was limited. The battle pod solved this problem by suspending a spherical simulator in an anti-gravity field. This would allow the pod to spin and rotated as effortless as if it were in the water.

 

This fresh reminder of just how much more successful her new team was compared to her previous circumstances was enough to intimidate Becky afresh. Was it insane temerity on her part to think that she could ever belong here? Banks obviously thought so and Flair seemed to be leaning that way. As for Martinez, Becky appreciated how friendly she was but she honestly wondered if that same kindness would prevent her from even telling Becky if she thought she didn’t belong.

 

Unaware of the turmoil inside Becky, Martinez hit a control that lowered the pod within the anti-gravity field down to floor level. As it reached the floor a hatch opened to reveal a very good approximation of a star fighter’s cockpit. “Just get in here and the pod will seal up behind you. Once it’s reached its usual hover height a menu will open, just follow the instructions.”

 

“Got it,” Becky said.

 

“Oops! One last thing,” Martinez said as she grabbed a helmet off a rack and tossed it to Becky. “It can get bumpy in there,” she said just as the pod hatch closed.

 

For a moment Becky simply sat in darkness before the flat stretch of blackness in front of her suddenly sprang to life. The words: Select Control configuration, appeared. Looking at the option displayed Becky opted for a control stick, which was how she’d always flown before. As soon as she’d tapped this option there was a clunking sound as the control yoke in front of her folded forward and a stick extended out from the same space.

 

“Well, damn,” Becky muttered, impressed once again.

 

“ _ Lynch, can you hear me?”  _ Charlotte Flair’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

 

“Receiving,” Becky said, automatically slipping into pilot speak.

 

“ _ We’ve loaded your ships data up and as soon as we begin you’ll be flying it. Just stand by while we configure the pod. Tuck your arms in for this part.”  _ Becky did as she was told and suddenly the entire interior pod seemed to be moving around her with a series of mechanical whirrings, clanks and clunks. In no time at all she found herself confronting a new perfect facsimile of her own cockpit. This pod really was incredible. 

 

“ _ OK, real simple to start. Simply complete the obstacle course under the listed time,”  _ Flair told her.

 

“Acknowledged,” Becky said. She was feeling herself calm slightly now that she was (sort of) back in a cockpit. 

 

The screen in front of her suddenly changed to show the view from inside her own ship’s cockpit. The scene outside was mostly of the vacuum of space but below her, she saw what looked like the surface of a barren moon or another celestial body. Hovering in front of and slightly below her present position was a large red ring. This and the large timer that appeared in the corner of her cockpit made what she had to do clear. 

 

Taking a deep steadying breath Becky closed her eyes and counted to five. When she reached the number she used her right hand to shove her ship’s throttle forward to full. The dart jumped forward through the first red ring, as she did another appeared still further ahead. Smiling Becky shoved her stick forward and sent her craft into a steep dive. She easily flashed through the second ring and then a third before a fourth appeared down in a canyon beneath her. 

 

The next few minutes were all white knuckle flying for Becky. She sent her old dart through a series of breakneck turns as she followed the canyon’s path. Despite the tight geography, she was pleased that she didn’t once have drastically reduce her speed. By the time she emerged from the canyon, she was feeling all her usual thrill of flying. This simulator was truly remarkable, it really made her feel as though she were in her own ship.

 

When a ring appeared in the center of a circular hole in a massive rock formation she grinned. Regaining what little speed she’d had to sacrifice in the canyon she sent her ship through the gap while executing a series of aileron rolls. As she cleared the red ring the timer in her cockpit suddenly stopped counting. Becky brought her ship up and away from the surface and set her ship to orbit as she waited. Her finishing time began to blink as a list of other times suddenly appeared next to it. A moment later her time slid into the appropriate spot in the list.

 

Becky’s heart stopped as it did. She’d just placed second all-time in course speed, though the computer noted that this was adjusted by ship capability. This hardly registered to Becky as she saw the names on the two times immediately below hers, the two she’d just knocked back with her efforts. They read C. Flair and B. Martinez.

 

Becky smiled. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Pegasi continue their journey. You know the last thing I needed was ANOTHER project but this story is so fun for me. 
> 
> If you're liking the Pegasi please consider bookmarking so you don't ever have to miss a chapter! (I'm shooting for once a week updates). Also, I'd love your thoughts in comment form!
> 
> So, about today's chapter. Becky really is the new girl at school isn't she? But it was nice to see her get a chance to show off her skills. Will Sasha EVER cut Becky a break? Why is Charlotte so distant? Is Bayley really a friend or is she just nice to everyone?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: Sasha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha Banks determines that Becky Lynch is a threat to her teammates and family, the Pegasi.

Sasha Banks scowled as she looked at the readout in the simulator control room.

 

The nobody, Becky something, had just finished the first simulator test. Her time was...not terrible. But from the way her teammate and, if she was honest, best friend, Bayley was going on about you’d think the ginger bitch had just won the damned Titanium MVP.

 

“Ha! See! I told you!” She said as she smirked over at Sasha.

 

Since the nobody had arrived Bayley had been getting on Sasha’s nerves. This wasn’t actually anything new of course. Sasha loved Bayley like a sister but the other woman’s relentless cheerfulness and optimism could sometimes grate on Sasha’s own more reserved disposition. And by ‘sometimes’ she meant ‘often’.

 

“Jesus Bay, would you relax? It’s one fucking run through the easiest damned test we have!” Sasha snapped. Bayley’s smile didn’t shift a micron at this. She was used to Sasha’s moods.

 

“I told you both, didn’t I? Becky is a BRILLIANT flyer, I’ve been watching her Iron Cup stuff. She was SO ready to move up!” Bayley was practically bouncing in excitement, or perhaps vindication.

 

“She notched an OK time, on a stupidly easy course! Put her in something that might actually challenge a child and then you can be obnoxious,” Sasha muttered. She was having to work hard to keep her sour expression. She didn’t like Becky, that was her name, but it was also hard NOT to be infected by Bayley’s moods.

 

Charlotte, their friend, and team leader hadn’t apparently been paying attention. She was sitting at one of the simulator control consoles and had been staring intensely at the hovering holo display in front of her. Staring intensely enough that Sasha suspected she hadn’t actually been looking at it. Whatever the case she leaned forward and hit the transmit button before saying: “OK Lynch, not bad. I’m going to run you through another timed course now. This one will be more difficult.”

 

“ _Acknowledged,”_ came the slightly garbled reply. The Pegasi were wealthy enough to afford top of the line communication equipment, and indeed most of it in the HQ was. But they, like almost all Sky Knights teams, adhered to the old military tradition of using lower quality transmission equipment in their fighters, and thus their simulators. This practice dated back the earliest days of starfighter combat where the low-quality audio had actually been a defensive measure designed to help disguise the identity of pilots from enemy intelligence.

 

“So how long do we have to sit here and watch her play with toys?” Sasha asked sourly after a few minutes of observing Lynch’s progress on the central holo-display.

 

“Oh don’t be grumpy, you’re just mad that she’s almost on pace to beat your records,” Bayley said with a sweet smile.

 

“Oh yeah? You should be embarrassed by the fact that a no-talent beat the two of you out on her first try. Shit, you two really need to learn how to fly,” Sasha shot back.

 

“Doing things faster does not mean you do them better.”

 

“Oh thank you ‘wise one’...” Sasha muttered. They all fell silent as they watched the feed which showed them everything Lynch herself was seeing inside the pod. Sasha’s lip curled in disgust as Bayley made appreciative noises as Lynch made several breakneck turns which shaved several seconds off her time.

  
When the simulator run was over Sasha’s scowl and had deepened. Somehow the nobody had notched a time just a few seconds slower than her own mark.

 

“Not a god damned word,” Sasha growled at Bayley, who was showing signs of saying something smug. For once, Sasha’s friend did as she was told and simply looked away primly.

 

“Both of you SHUT UP! PLEASE! I am so sick of you two bickering!” Charlotte suddenly snapped. Bayley looked startled at this response and Sasha’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Ordinarily, she would have fired up at this kind of rebuke but it was a special time. She knew Charlotte was under an enormous amount of stress at the moment both professional and personal. Sasha might not show it but she loved Charlotte the same way she loved Bayley and she wasn’t going to add more to her plate. Well, not too much.

 

“Real inspiring Captain,” she muttered, using both Charlotte’s old military rank and her team title.

 

“Sasha…” Charlotte said in a dangerously quiet voice “...NOT now.”

 

“Should we go pod up?” Bayley asked, quickly enough that it was clear that she was trying to avert an argument. Charlotte closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.

 

“Yes, both of you suit up and get in. I’ll turn this over to the techs in a bit,” she said in an exhausted-sounding voice. Bayley and Sasha left at the same time, heading down the hallway to the simulator locker rooms.

 

“Sasha,” Bayley said in a tone that Sasha instantly recognized. It was her ‘we need to talk’ voice.

 

“Not now Bay,” Sasha whined.

 

“YES, now!” Bayley said, stopping quickly and holding out a hand to stop Sasha. To her own annoyance, Sasha actually halted.

 

“Well?” she demanded hotly, though she knew exactly what Bayley wanted.

 

“Why are you being a bitch to Becky?” Bayley asked.

 

“Why are YOU protecting her? She’s not some lost puppy for you to snuggle!” Sasha demanded in turn.

 

“Because…” Bayley said patiently “...she’s in a tough situation and I have basic human empathy? Or because I’m a member of this team and I know that we need a 4th pilot and I’ve bothered to study Becky Lynch? Either of those?”

 

“Oh shut up, she’s an OK flyer at best and we definitely don’t NEED her of all people,” Sasha snapped as she began to walk again.

 

“Well, that’s a big step up from her being a ‘no-talent’ like you were saying earlier,” Bayley said dryly. This sarcasm was enough to turn Sasha around

 

“LOOK!...” she snapped “...I’m sorry that I think we should have waited for more than fifteen minutes before we replaced AJ! Just a LITTLE bit more respect and a SMALL sense that we are more than just interchangeable components in a machine! And you know-” Sasha cut off abruptly as she looked back down the hallway.

 

“Sasha…” Bayley said, softer now “...bringing in Becky doesn’t mean we’re forgetting AJ...it just means-”

 

But Sasha had heard enough. “Whatever Bayley, I’m going to go change!” she said abruptly as she stormed away. Though she didn’t see it, she left Bayley with a desolated expression on her face. A single unshed tear in her eye.

 

Each pilot of the Pegasi had their own assigned changing room. The small rooms were sparse but perfect for their purpose. Sasha opened the locker in hers and automatically reached for one the grey training flight suits that she usually wore for simulator runs. Then her hand stopped as she saw the royal blue of an official Pegasi uniform. A wicked grin spread across her face.

 

Lynch was an interloper who not only didn't belong on the team but could also be a threat to it. Sasha and her friends had worked far too hard to let some nobody show up and wreck it all now. Besides, she had Charlotte and her current emotional state to think about. Sasha didn't show it often but if asked she would have fought her way through hell and back for Charlotte Flair. Their friendship wasn't the same as hers with Bayley but it was no less intense.

Wherever Charlotte Flair went, Sasha Banks would be there having her back. If Charlotte was ever in danger than Sasha would be the one to pull out of the fire. This wasn't limited to physical danger either. 

 

Sasha had a plan. 

 

Less than ten minutes later she was sitting one of the battle pods waiting for it to configure itself to a facsimile of her ship’s cockpit. Most pilots in the Titanium Cup had at least three separate ships. Sometimes these were owned by their team or bought by sponsors, OCCASIONALLY they were even the personal property of the pilots themselves. This was the case with Sasha.

 

She’d made a LOT of money since leaving the service. She actually had the most endorsements on the team. Sasha Banks ‘the Boss’ was an eminently marketable figure and her advertisements could be seen on hundreds of worlds. This had allowed her to spend the millions needed to buy all her own fighters.

 

Another unusual thing about Sasha’s ships was their composition. Most competitive pilots had multiple types of ships to suit different situations and matchups. Bayley, for example, flew both the Pegasi’s standard _Phoenix-Class_ as well as a _Mako-Class_ attack craft depending on the match. Sasha was one of the few pilots dubbed ‘purists’ due to their insistence on flying on one kind of craft. In Sasha’s case a _Phoenix._

 

Even more unusually, Sasha’s _Phoenix’s_ were all identical. One of the things that played a large factor in Sky Knights’ popularity was the chess match component to competing teams. There was no standardization across the sport. If your team could afford faster, strong, and tougher ships you’d be at a distinct advantage. But even in cases of relatively evenly matched ships, teams could modify them to gain an edge.

 

Sasha refused to do this more than once. As far as she was concerned her ships were perfect. Doing anything to them would sully that. So she approached every single match with the exact same set of tools. Conventional wisdom said that she should have been at a disadvantage. Her Win-loss ratio said otherwise, dramatically.

 

There was nothing to compare to sitting in one of her babies, but she had to admit that the battle pods weren’t awful in their attempts. Hitting the almost familiar power up button activated the screen in front of her. She suddenly found herself looking around a large hanger bay. A quick look to her left told it was aboard either a capital ship or space station as the hanger doors were open to reveal a starfield.

 

 _“Pegasi-4 to Pegasi-2, Sasha are you receiving?”_ Bayley’s voice crackled in Sasha’s helmet speaker.

 

“ _Pegasi-3,”_ Sasha said curtly, still remembering their argument in the hallway.

 

“ _Charlotte contacted before you got here, she wants up to exit the hanger and go into a holding pattern around the Equite until she logs in,”_ Bayley said, apparently unaware of Sasha’s surliness. This was part of the reason why she was Sasha’s best friend. Almost uniquely, Bayley was immune to Sasha’s moods.

 

“ _Acknowledged,”_ Sasha said. Though she appreciated Bayley’s patience on a conscious level it could also annoy her. Sometimes she wanted someone to fight with.

 

Without another word, she ran through her pre-flight check-list. She’d done this so many times between her military and competitive careers that it was like blinking for her now. All her systems were showing green (they would, it was a simulator) and when she’d finished she gently put a hand on her hover engines and slowly lifted her ship off from where it was parked on the hanger deck. She gave a flick to her thrusters to send the ship gliding forward out of the row of other fighters and toward an open space on the deck. Retracting her landing gear she spun the ship on the spot until she was facing the open hanger doors.

 

“ _Pegasi-2, away,”_ she broadcast as she gunned her engines and shot out into the simulated vacuum.

 

It wasn’t flying, and it wasn’t sex, but damn it simulated flying could still be fun. Sasha felt the corners of her mouth twitching upward as the battle pod simulated, exactly, the inertial effects of her long slow turn along the hull of the _Equite._ Looking down from her cockpit she surveyed the simulated vessel with a small grin.

 

The real-life counterpart to what she was seeing now was the team’s mobile HQ whenever they had toured for matches. A decommissioned _Horseman-Class_ escort carrier, the ship was actually far larger than was called for to transport a team a four pilot team. Even a team as well equipped and staffed as the Pegasi could have made down with much less. As it was most of the _Equite_ was empty and/or automated when they went on trips.

 

The reasons for the choice of the _Equite_ were two-fold. The first was practical. Some of the match locations were a very long way from Earth and the other core worlds. The further out you got the less safe space became. The main space lanes were very safe but pirate activity wasn’t completely unknown on them. A ship the size of the _Equite_ was much less likely to be attacked.

 

The second reason was much less practical but no less important. A ship the size of the _Equite,_ a former warship no less, was the ultimate sign of prestige. Few teams could afford such conveyance and the fact the Pegasi had one could both intimidate and awe other teams. It had been one of Ric Flair’s founding principles that if you could inspire either feeling in an opponent before you met them on the field, you’d probably win.

 

Sasha was able to think all of these things as she circled the ship before she heard: _“Pegasi-4, away.”_ Checking her sensors she watched as Bayley’s ship, today she was flying a _Phoenix,_ flew out of the hanger a much slower pace than Sasha had. A few moments later the other craft sped up and eventually fell in neatly off Sasha’s port-stern.

 

“ _Any idea how long Char’s going to be?”_ Sasha asked into her commlink. This was her version of a verbal olive branch as she very rarely apologized. Bayley would be aware of this of course.

 

“ _She was just heading to change when she called earlier,”_ Bayley responded.

 

“ _Always getting ready,”_ Sasha quipped. She then sent her ship through a series of aileron rolls just from the pure joy of flying. Even if it was simulated.

 

“ _You are too adorable you know that?”_ Bayley said she began barrel-rolling her ship around Sasha’s.

 

“ _You seriously NOT doing that to me are you?”_ Sasha said challenging as she watched Bayley’s craft spiral around hers.

 

“ _I am going to dust you later, and when I do please remember that you CHOSE to do this,”_ Sasha said challengingly.  

 

In response, Bayley began spinning her ship in a series of aileron rolls AS she barrel-rolled around Sasha. This made Sasha grin. In response to Bayley’s antics, Sasha pulled sharply back on her stick. In a remarkable display of precision flying, she began a series of linked inside loops that looped her up and around the ‘high point’ of Bayley’s barrel rolls. The effect was to have the two fighters locked in a kind of high-speed infinity ring, all while circling the ship.

 

As they did this Sasha reflected that she’d probably be able to make a comfortable living as a trick flyer if she ever needed to. She and Bayley made two full circuits of the _Equite_ locked in their dance before a new voice crackled over the comm. _“Pegasi-1, away,”_ Charlotte said and a moment later her ship exited the _Equite._

 

“ _Nice of you to join us blondie,”_ Sasha said as she stopped her looping and brought her ship around to an intercept course with Charlotte’s. Like her teammates, she was flying a _Phoenix_ today.

 

“ _Oh, you CAN be pleasant huh?”_ Charlotte said, speaking playfully for the first time Sasha could remember in a long time. This brought a smile to Sasha’s face as she settled into a starboard-stern flanking position behind Charlotte. She was the other woman’s wingmate and they usually began any match in this formation.

 

“ _I’m sure it’s paining her deeply though,”_ Bayley put in as she took up a position on Charlotte’s other side, mirroring Sasha’s. Bayley had been AJ’s wingmate and would normally have been in an identical formation to the one that Charlotte and Sasha were in, only with AJ. This thought sobered Sasha, though not as much as what came next.

 

“ _Sim control, this is Pegasi-1. Can you please bring Ms. Lynch into our sim?”_ Charlotte asked, her voice once again the impenetrably stern tone she’d fallen into in recent weeks.  

 

“ _Stand by Ms. Flair,”_ came the voice of the sim tech. A moment later a small note appeared the corner of Sasha’s screen indicating that a new pilot had been added to the current scenario.

 

“ _Ms. Lynch? Are you receiving?”_ Charlotte asked.

 

“ _Receiving,”_ came the accented reply. Sasha’s eyes narrowed at this. Only the long-engrained reflex towards comm discipline in formal situations kept her mouth shut.

 

“ _Come to the following coordinates, and we’ll meet you there. Since you aren’t in a phoenix we won’t do any head to head drills today. But we’ll have the computer generate some AI targets and work our way up the difficulty settings. I assume you won’t mind acting as Bayley’s wingmate today?”_ Charlotte asked over the comm.

 

“ _Not at all, this should be fun,”_ the Irish pilot answered just as her ship came into visual range. Both the response and the ship itself made Sasha sneer. Lynch’s _Dart-Class_ was a god damn antique that was an embarrassment to the team. And to have her flying as Bayley’s wingmate, Sasha’s best friend, just made it worse.

 

“ _Happy to have you along, let’s go make some simulated widows and widowers!”_ Bayley joked as she flew off to flank Lynch.

 

“ _Sim control, we’ll start slow. Please spawn us four level-5 hostiles, Onryo-class interceptors,”_ Charlotte said, ignoring the banter. Sasha was annoyed already by this. Level-5 hostiles was a joke, the kind of thing she’d been well past when she was fresh out of the academy. What was more, _Onyryo-Class_ interceptors were little more than suicide craft. They’d been designed to accomplish through numbers what they couldn’t do with quality.

 

“ _Acknowledged, hostiles will spawn in ten, nine, eight-”_ the tech began to countdown as Sasha took a firm hold of her control stick. She’d be a good soldier for Charlotte’s sake during the training. But she had a special plan for this damned interloper. One she hoped would send Becky Lynch crying back to the Iron Cup where she belonged.

 

The Pegasi were Sasha’s team and family. She was going to protect them. Even if it meant doing something extreme.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was very tempted to write another Becky chapter here but I wanted to show an outside perspective. Sasha has been functioning as the antagonist so far, so I figured what the hell?
> 
> I really hope you like this story, it's one of my passion projects and I can't wait to dive even deeper into this world. If you DID like it, I'd be very honored if you'd consider bookmarking it. I think you'll also find that I adore commenters, especially the chronic kind so don't be shy!
> 
> What did you guys think of this one? Is Sasha just a bitch or is there something else driving her to be this way? It seems Charlotte might not always have been as withdrawn as she is now, can that come back? What's bothering Bayley? And will Becky do enough here to start moving the needle on her respect level with the team?
> 
> Look for the movie around 2030, directed by RileySavage7! haha
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Bayley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley struggles with her relationship with her teammates and reflects on what was.

The moment Bayley’s battle pod opened she jumped out of it before it could full lower to the floor. She tore helmet off and threw it into her pod. She was livid and when she saw the source of her anger she stormed toward them.

 

“Are you proud of yourself?!” she demanded of Sasha as the other woman dropped down from her pod. Bayley marched right up to her and planted herself right in front of Sasha, her hands on her hips.

 

“Usually,” Sasha said casually, not meeting Bayley’s eyes.

 

“Damn it, Sasha!...” Bayley snapped “...What the hell was that?”

 

“What was what?” Sasha snarled back, her patience was never robust.

 

“That BS after the final scenario! What did that prove?” 

 

“That the nobody doesn’t belong here and that she will NEVER be in my league,” Sasha growled.

 

“Oh really?” Bayley asked sarcastically.

 

“Yeah, REALLY,” Sasha said as she stepped forward. She was shorter than Bayley by a few inches but her presence made her seem bigger. 

 

“HOW did that prove anything? You were flying a PHOENIX! Becky was in her dart! NO SHIT you beat her!” Bayley shouted.

 

“A good pilot would have found a way! I did!” Sasha shot back. This was true, after the first three times she’d shot down Becky she’d then instructed the simulator to switch their ships. She’d still dusted the Irish pilot twice more. But Bayley wasn’t in the mood to entertain this.

 

“She’s NEVER flown a Phoenix! You didn’t show anything except that you can be a HUGE ASSHOLE!” 

 

“Awwww poor Bayley, did your latest charity case widdle Becky get her feelings hurt?!” Sasha asked in an imitation of a child’s voice.

 

Before Bayley could respond the hear the hatches of the other two battle pods opening. Both shut up instantly. Bayley, because she didn’t want to discuss Becky while she was present and because she didn’t want to add any more stress to Charlotte’s life. Sasha didn’t seem to have any such concerns.

 

“Face it, Bayley! She’s can’t handle the prime time!  Stop protecting her and admit it!” Sasha said, clearly wanting Becky to overhear. Without another word, Sasha spun on her heel and stormed off toward the changing rooms.

 

Bayley stared after her, nostrils flared and breathing hard. She tried to force herself to calm down but she couldn’t manage it. At least not before Charlotte joined her, accompanied by a sullen looking Becky.

 

“Where did she go?” Charlotte asked wearily. Bayley’s friend looked so tired that for a moment Bayley just wanted to hug her. But she knew Charlotte wouldn’t appreciate this in a work setting, and especially in front of Becky.

 

“I don’t know…” Bayley sighed, some of her anger deflating to be replaced by exhaustion of her own. Charlotte massaged her forehead with two fingers for a few moments before she visibly gathered herself.

 

“OK…” she finally said “...Lynch, try not to worry about it. Sasha was out of line and you did pretty well during the actual exercises.” She said this with a weak kind of half smile that didn’t do anything to lift the mood of the room. In any case, Becky was looking at the floor with her hands in her pockets.

 

“Thanks…” she muttered dully.

 

“Bayley, it’s a maintenance day so work with the crews to look after your ships. Lynch...we’re still working on getting you a Phoenix. Until then, feel free to use the sims and you know when chow is. We had a pilot briefing scheduled for this afternoon but given the circumstances, we’ll push it to tomorrow morning,” Charlotte said tiredly.

 

“OK, well, let me know if I can do anything to help today Char,” Bayley said with a weak smile. 

 

“Thanks, Bay,” Charlotte said, sounding as though she wasn’t really listening. A moment later she just left without saying another word. Bayley stared after helplessly for a few moments before she saw Becky leaving as well.

 

“Hey, Becky!” she said, trying to force some warmth into her voice. Becky stiffened briefly but didn’t turn around.

 

“What?” she asked, there wasn’t hostility in her voice but it was clear she didn’t want to talk. Bayley was taken slightly aback but pressed on

 

“I just...I know that you’re a really good mechanic and I wondered if wanted to maybe work on my ships with me?” Bayley offered. Becky sighed audibly before turning around and look at Bayley with a rigid expression.

 

“Look, Martinez. You’ve been very nice and I appreciate it, I really do. But I’m having the worst week of my life and I don’t think anything you can say or do is going to help that. And I know you mean well but I don’t want to feel like your charity case so if you could leave me be I’ll be very grateful,” she said flatly.

 

“Becky, I don’t think you’re a-” Bayley started to say but Becky had already spun on her heel and started to walk away. Bayley watched her go to and eventually was left alone in the simulator room. It was with a heavy heart that she eventually returned to her changing room. 

 

Bayley Martinez was a naturally cheerful soul. She liked people and she liked to bring joy to them. For her, companionship was as necessary as water. If she was deprived of it she would shrivel like a plant in the desert. As a result of this, these last few weeks had been particularly difficult. 

 

Everyone associated with the Pegasi was dealing with the loss of AJ in their own way. Sasha had grown sullen and belligerent, spending even more time than usual out partying. Charlotte had almost completely withdrawn into herself. She’d never been the most social person in the world but this was an entirely new level for her. 

 

Both Sasha and Charlotte had always been mercurial in their moods. But Bayley had always had an ally before this in dealing with them. AJ. Now that she was gone Bayley was left trying to keep her friend’s spirits up while also being forced into a terrible situation for her own mental health. 

 

She realized that she might have, unfairly, been trying to push Bayley into the role of confidant and friend. Bayley had been so deprived of meaningful companionship that she could feel herself sinking rapidly into depression. It wasn’t in Bayley’s nature to complain or even to try and make her needs a priority in a group, but she had to admit she was very lonely.

 

As she peeled out of her jumpsuit and stepped into the shower she let her head droop. She was feeling more and more trapped as time went by. She knew that many people in her position would have simply left the team. She could join any major Sky Knights team and probably be the best pilot there. She’d probably also be made Captain. But Bayley never would.

 

Bayley didn’t dislike being a Sky Knight but she didn’t love it either. The main reason she was a Pegasi was that she could work with her best friends. Bayley had first met Charlotte, Sasha, and AJ when they’d all been in the military. The other three women had been part of the 205th Fighter Squadron which had been assigned to escort Bayley’s unit. Bayley had begun her career as a fighter pilot and had done fairly well in the role. But a job focused solely on killing others simply hadn’t appealed to Bayley’s nature. After she’d become an ace, she’d put in a transfer request to join the Rescue Flyers. 

 

The Rescue Flyers were an elite unit group within the fleet tasked with the most dangerous rescue and recovery missions. All capital ships had their own attached rescue groups but the Rescue Flyers were used only in the most intensive combat situation. No matter how hot the action, the Rescue Flyers would fly right in to recover ejected or spaced pilots. Though their ships weren’t totally unarmed the nature of their job meant they were often forced to remain stationary for long stretches and couldn’t risk extreme maneuvers with injured pilots onboard.

 

Bayley had logged a record two dozen successful rescue flights in some of the most dangerous combat situations. The most memorable had been when she’d been flying with the 205th. They’d been over a lonely planetoid called ‘Stasiak’. The fleet had engaged a huge enemy force in a desperate delaying action. Hundreds of fighters had been destroyed but few had been recovered as a result of the intensity of the action.

 

Bayley’s own squadron had four pilots in the early stages of the battle while two other’s had been shot out of their ships. By the second day of the fighting Bayley had been the only one with a still functioning ship. Despite this, she’d insisted on taking it out, again and again, to rescue as many people as she could. 

 

She could still remember the time she’d first heard the voices of the women who would become her best friends. Bayley had been solo flying her rescue shuttle when she’d detected a group of distress signals from Stasiak itself. It seemed several fighters had crash landed and their pilots have survived. Without a second thought, she’d sent her ship diving toward the planet’s atmosphere

 

An unfamiliar voice had crackled over her comm: “ _ Punk Leader to Angel one, are you going after the pilots on the planet’s surface?” _

 

“ _Affirmative_ _Punk Leader, watch my back?”_ Bayley had asked distractedly. She knew that _Punk Leader_ was actually Major AJ Lee but the pilot’s never identified each other by name for the same reason they used less advanced comm equipment. Protecting their identities.

 

“ _ This is insane!...”  _ another voice had cut in “... _ by the time we make it down there and back half the enemy fleet will be right overhead!”  _ This had been Charlotte speaking.

 

“ _ Zip Punk-two,  if Angel is going down then we’re going to keep her clean,”  _ AJ had responded.

 

“ _ Just don’t slow us down pretty wings,”  _ a voice that sounded sardonic even through the comm distortion put in. Sasha, of course. 

 

Bayley had responded to this as she’d was concentrating on crash diving through the planet’s atmosphere. This put a tremendous strain on the hull but it would shave valuable minutes off her time on the planet.  _ Punk-two  _ had been right, the enemy would be on them in moments. Bayley was just approaching the first distress beacon, less than one hundred klicks out when her sensor board screamed at her.

 

She didn’t need to look to know what it meant. Enemy craft had been detected. Though she couldn’t actually hear it, she imagined the sound their engines would be making as they surged through the planet’s sky toward her and her escort.

 

Knowing that her larger and slower shuttle would be horribly vulnerable in the open air, Bayley had sent her ship dropping at an alarming rate, only engaging her thrusters moment’s before she would have been a smear on the ground. She’d dropped into a low range of hills and was hoping to use them as cover. This took all her concentration as she did her best to hurry toward her destination so she only caught brief flashes of the battle going on around her through the transmissions coming through her comm.

 

“ _ Second and third flight’s you are cleared to engage!” _

 

_ “Hell yeah!” _

 

_ “First flight, remain with us, we’re covering angel.” _

 

_ “Where the hell did she go.” _

 

_ “Down in the canyon, four.” _

 

_ “Counting twelve...seventeen….shit, counting twenty-hostiles!” _

 

_ “Oh, I don’t like this!” _

 

_ “Cut the chatter! Stay with your wingmates and you’ll be fine!” _

 

_ “HERE THEY COME!”  _

 

_ “Watch it Six! You’ve got one on your tail!” _

 

_ “I’m going to string him out for you!” _

 

_ “Hurry you better-ahhhhhhh” _

 

Bayley spared a quick glance at her sensor board at this, in case she would be needed to rescue another pilot. But her screen showed only eleven remaining friendlies in the area, no distress beacon. The ship had been cleanly destroyed. Gritting her teeth screamed toward her destination. The beacon was coming from near a large lake that was close by. She was hoping to quick swing by, extract the pilot, and then hop to the next beacon.

 

But it was just as she cleared the last valley that she realized they’d been tricked. As soon as she was over the lake her sensors blurted at her, indicating they’d lost the beacon. The reason was clear, floating in the center of the lake was what appeared to be a large mine. Without conscious thought, Bayley had jerk back on her control yoke, sending her ship in a steep climb.

 

“ _ Punk squadron, get clear, there’s a mine. This was a trap!” _ she transmitted frantically.  No one replied but she spared half a heartbeat to look at her screen and saw all the fighters clearing the area. The enemy obviously knew was down there. Bayley was about twenty kilometers over the planet’s surface when the mine blew. So massive was its payload that her craft still rattled from the concussion.

 

“ _ What the shit?”  _ someone demanded over the comm.

 

“ _ Essential comm traffic only five! Angel-one, what is your status?”  _ AJ asked.

 

“ _ I’m fine, got a little shaken but I’m going back for the other-” _ Bayley started to say but then stopped. All the other beacons on the planet had gone dark. Instead, there were more enemy signals than she could count suddenly converging on them.

 

“ _ It was a trap!”  _ Sasha had shouted, though Bayley hadn’t known it at the time.

 

“ _ Calm down Five! Second and third flight clear us a path we’re getting out of here!”  _ AJ had said cooly.

 

“ _ If it’s alright with your punk-leader I think it’s time we left this party,”  _ Bayley said as she pointed her nose straight upward.

 

“ _ It was getting boring anyway,”  _ AJ had answered. This response, so casual and so unexpected, made Bayley grin. She was thinking of something witty to say when something happened to force her mind back to the severity of the situation.

 

“ _ FUCK! They cooked one of my engines!”  _ a familiar voice shouted. Bayley realized then that it was punk-five.

 

“ _ What’s your status?”  _ Charlotte had demanded, the strain in her voice obvious even over the comm.

 

“ _ My god damn status is that I’m not going to be able to generate enough thrust to break the atmosphere!”  _ Sasha had snarled. This was greeted by a moment of silence by the rest of her squadron as they digested what this meant.

 

“ _ Sasha, NO!”  _ Charlotte had shouted, completely disregarding comm procedure.

 

“ _ Just get out of here! I’m going to bring as many of these fuckers with me as I can!”  _ Sasha had shouted defiantly.

 

_ “AJ! We have to-”  _ Charlotte had screamed.

 

“ _ OBSERVE comm procedures, PILOT!”  _ AJ had bellowed. Bayley had recognized the tone of someone trying to cut through panic and shock.

 

“ _ We can’t just leave her!” _

 

_ “If you don’t leave now I’ll shoot you down myself! Now go!”  _ Sasha had said. This was almost the only time Bayley had heard fear in her voice.

 

“ _ But-”  _

 

“ _ Give’em hell...five,”  _ AJ had said somberly.

 

“ _ Acknowledged leader!”  _ Sasha had said, much more subdued now. “ _ I’m going to- WHAT THE HELL?”  _ whatever Sasha was going to say was cut off when her craft gave a violent shudder as Bayley almost collided with her.

 

“ _ Punk-five, shut down your engines I’m hitting you with a tractor!” _ she’d said through gritted teeth. The tractor procedure wasn’t supposed to be done while moving at all, never mind at the speeds they were.

 

“ _ Are you insane?!”  _ Sasha had shouted.

 

“ _ No! I’m a god damn Rescue Flyer, no power down! I can’t have you pulling against the tractor!” _ Bayley had roared. She had just snagged Sasha in the invisible grip but the if the pilot kept flying the opposite direction the emitter would overload.

 

“ _ You’ll never make it out of here if you’re towing me!”  _ Sasha had tried arguing.

 

“ _ POWER DOWN NOW YOU DIM WIT!”  _ Bayley had bellowed at the top of her lungs. A moment later the resistance on her tractor had vanished.

 

“ _ We’re sitting ducks!”  _

 

“ _ No, we aren’t! You’re going to be my gun turret!”  _ this was ll the explanation Bayley could spare at the moment. She was having to fight her yoke with all her strength now that she was towing Sasha.

 

“ _ What? Oh…”  _ Sasha had said. Bayley could almost hear the lightbulb go on. A moment later she heard the distant sound of fighter cannon’s discharging from beneath her. Though Sasha’s ship wasn’t flying on its own, it was effectively suspended in place under Bayley’s, but she COULD use thrusters to turn in place and fire on enemy craft. It was an ungainly arrangement but the best they had.

 

“ _ Punk squadron! Form up on Angel, we need to protect her!”  _ AJ had said.

 

“ _ NO!”...  _ Bayley had growled “...It doesn’t make sense to sacrifice the whole squadron! Just clear us a path and we’ll be fine!”

 

There was a pause where AJ obviously wanted to argue but in the end, she’d just said: “ _ Acknowledged.” _

 

_ “Angel! Have you considered that there is no way you’ll generate enough thrust to reach escape velocity WHILE towing?”  _ Charlotte had asked. She was right, tractor tows were designed for the vacuum. In most atmospheres, the gravity simply made it impractical. In the atmosphere, the Rescue Flyer usually had to land or hover and physically bring the pilot into their ship.

 

“ _ I...have...a...plan,”  _ Bayley grunted, her arms were trembling from the effort of trying to hold the yoke in position.

 

“ _ Well, you’d better fucking share it because we are running out of space!”  _ Sasha had shouted.

 

“Turn your ship to face forward. Then open your maintenance panel to your left! On my mark you’re going to pull the second lever from the left down and HOLD IT DOWN,” Bayley shot back.

 

“ _ What-?: _

 

_ “DO IT!”  _ Bayley screamed. She estimated they had less than five seconds to spare. “ _ Punk-leader, if you could arrange for some backup to be waiting for us I think we might need it!” _

 

_ “Acknowledged!” _

 

_ “Punk-five….NOW!”  _ Bayley shouted as she jammed every throttle she had forward as far as the levers would go. 

 

What she was doing was insane. At the same moment, she was gunning her engines for all they were worth she’d just instructed the other pilot to execute a fuel dump. This was a control only used in maintenance situations to rapidly clear a ship's tanks. In a ship with an engine running, it would cause a massive explosion. An explosion she hoped would be enough to shove them out of the grip of the planet’s gravity. While not killing them in the process.

 

The maneuver had worked, Bayley and Sasha had been blasted (literally) out into space. The explosion had almost sheared Sasha’s ship in half and had severely damaged Bayley’s own vessel. But they’d made it. Hours later, safely aboard one of the capital ships that was retreating from the battle. Most of the fleet had been understandably despondent at the loss. Bayley, who was always a bit glum after a battle, was sitting quietly in the corner of the pilot’s lounge nursing a drink when three people had approached.

 

“Hey! Are you Martinez?” a woman with striking eyes and caramel skin had said. Her voice hard to read, it seemed challenging but there something else there.

 

Bayley had sighed heavily as she stared into her drink before saying: “You’re not really going to do the ‘thats our spot’ thing are you?” To her surprise, all three women had sat down across from her. 

 

“If it’s anyone else’s spot they will have to fight us to kick you out,” a tall blonde had said. Bayley had blinked looked up at them uncertainly at this.

 

“Major AJ Lee, punk-leader,” the brunette in the center had introduced herself. Bayley had shaken her hand and then learned the blonde was Captain Charlotte Flair. But it was when the third woman had introduced herself that she’d sat up and taken notice.

 

“Lieutenant Sasha Banks….punk-five,” she’d said awkwardly.

 

They’d ended up drinking and talking so long that eventually, the lounge officer had booted them. But they’d then taken their gather to Bayley’s quarters. One perk of being a Rescue Flyer was that you got a solo bunk. And from that night on they’d been inseparable when they were all together. Her friends had tried to convince her to transfer to punk squadron but Bayley liked her job. So for several years, they’d only see each other occasionally. 

 

But it had happened that their enlistments had all been coming due at around the same time. Charlotte had suggested they join the Sky Knights and the rest had been history. Their friendship had only grown from that time, until very recently anyway. Now, Bayley was honestly concerned she might be losing Charlotte and Sasha as well. She wasn’t sure she could handle that. 

 

Maybe it would be best to just cut her losses.

 

These glum reflections last for the rest of the day and were still lingering even as she laid down to go to sleep. Soon she was listening to some soft music and drifting away, so much so that she didn’t notice the door opening and closing. She was only away that someone else was in the room when they sat on the edge of her bed.

 

“Hey? Bay?” Sasha whispered.

 

“Hmmm?” Bayley mumbled, struggling to come back to wakefulness.

 

“You awake?” Sasha asked, somewhat stupidly.

 

“Sasha? What...why...what do you want?” Bayley muttered sleepily.

 

“To say I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted at you earlier,” Sasha said softly, her hand stroking Bayley’s hair. Even in her sleepy state, it was on the tip of Bayley’s tongue to say that it was OK. But she stopped herself. Sasha almost never apologized and she knew how rare this was. Even when only half awake.

 

“Sasha...it’s really late can we talk tomorrow?” Bayley asked. She didn’t get to say anymore because Sasha suddenly bent down and kissed her. It had been so long since they’d done this but even so Bayley’s lips had automatically responded. In a flash, Sasha was laying down behind her, one hand sliding inside Bayley’s sleeping shorts. Bayley’s head arched and she gasped at this touch. For a few moments or maybe minutes, she luxuriated in the feeling of Sasha’s fingers and her lips on Bayley’s neck.

 

But then Bayley’s rational mind caught up with events.

 

“No,” Bayley moaned as she turned her face away from Sasha.

 

“What?” Sasha whispered, her fingers moving faster. This almost broke Bayley’s will but she managed to reach down and gently remove Sasha’s hand from her shorts.

 

“Sasha...I...I can’t right now. Can we...can we just talk?” Bayley asked, rolling over to look up at Sasha in the dim light. Sasha shifted uncomfortably as she looked down. Now Bayley couldn’t see her face due to her hair.

 

“I don’t...I don’t know what to say,” Sasha whispered. Then Bayley could have sworn she heard Sasha sniffle. But before she could react, her friend had stood. “I’m sorry I work you up Bay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Sasha said quickly, already striding toward the door.

 

“Sasha!” Bayley tried to reassure her friend but before she could disentangle from her covers, Sasha had gone. 

 

Leaving Bayley alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really spiraled on me, but I got into a great flow and it feels good to share it with you all!
> 
> I know some of you are crying out for BaySha and maybe we'll revisit it at some point but I think the important thing here is to examine WHY Sasha is doing what she's doing. Somehow it seems unlikely that it's deep and passionate love that brought her to Bayley's room. But what about the other Pegasi? Will Bayley actually leave? Is it enough that's she's even thinking about it? Are the Pegasi themselves just heading towards destruction?
> 
> If you liked what you read here please consider hitting that bookmark button! And if you leave a comment below I will, of course, make every effort to address those! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6: Charlotte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte Flair learns what the future holds for her team, but must first keep it from falling apart.

“This is the right move darling,” Ric Flair said as he reclined in his hover chair.

 

Charlotte pursed her lips at this but didn’t respond right away. Instead, she looked down at her data tab and scrolled through a menu to the list her father had sent her earlier. She wasn’t really looking at it, of course, she was buying herself time to try and think of a counter-argument. 

 

None came to her.

 

“Don’t look so glum Charlotte, it’s only an exhibition match to get you, ladies, back into the swing of things,” Ric said.

 

“Whatever you say, dad,” Charlotte muttered. Her father looked at her searchingly for a moment, clearly debating if he should inquire into her sullenness. In the end, he decided to simply move on.

 

“How is Becky working out?” he asked. 

 

Again, Charlotte was forced to consider her response carefully.

 

Becky Lynch was turning out to be an exceptional flyer. She might not be quite as good as Sasha but very few people were. In her weakest moment’s Charlotte was inclined to try and argue that team chemistry had been negatively affected since the Irish woman’s arrival. But her soberer (and more honest) self always had to acknowledge that this was almost entirely Sasha’s fault for being so openly hostile to the newcomer, and her own for not coming down on her friend for it.

 

But this knowledge, of her own failings as a leader, just fueled her irrational resentment of Lynch. From the beginning, Charlotte knew she hadn’t given the pilot a fair chance. Not for anything she’d done or might do. Not even because her father had sprung the woman on Charlotte, as she’d been telling herself. No, Becky Lynch hadn’t done anything to earn Charlotte’s resentment.

 

Except be the one who was replacing AJ.

 

Even thinking of her former teammate was still enough to make a walnut-sized lump rise up in Charlotte’s throat. But as she felt this happening she shoved it aside. She had to focus.

 

“She’s...a good pilot,” Charlotte finally said, lamely.

 

“From what I’m seeing from these sim reports she’s more than good, she’s almost as good as Sasha,” Ric said as she brought the relevant date up on his holoscreen.

 

“It will be a long time before she’s as good as Sasha,” Charlotte said, indulging some of the pettiness she was feeling.

 

“She might never be…” Ric said fairly “...but even being ‘almost as good’ as Sasha Banks makes you a damned good flyer.” Charlotte had to grit her teeth at this, it was true.

 

“Have you decided who we’re going to be flying against for the exhibition?” Charlotte asked, mostly to just move the subject on from Becky Lynch.

 

“I have an invite out to the Undisputed Era,” Ric said casually. Charlotte’s stomach fell at this news. The UE was one of the best flying teams anywhere and had won the Titanium Cup four times in their short existence. 

 

“You really want to schedule us one of the best teams there is for a tune-up?” Charlotte asked, trying to sound casual. Before the accident with AJ, Charlotte would have been eager to take on the UE. Not only that but she would have been confident that her squad could win. Now? She didn’t doubt that they’d show well but there was only so much that training could do for team chemistry, nothing could replace actual time flying together. 

 

“That’s exactly what I want, what better way to announce that the Pegasi are back?” her father asked. Charlotte felt like snapping that they weren’t, and never would be. But this would be petty and while Sasha could get away with it, Charlotte couldn’t.

 

“When did you schedule this?” she asked, resignedly.

 

“Next week, it’ll be close though, no need for a trip. I’m thinking we’ll hold it over Enceladus. Just make sure your suits are optimized for the temperature in case anything goes wrong.

 

When Sky Knight matches took place over planets or moons with extreme environments the pilots were all required to be wearing appropriate survival gear. For a moon with -330 F temperatures, this meant insulated flight suits with full helmets. These would include built-in heating coils and oxygen in case a pilot was forced to eject.

 

“That should give you plenty of time to get Ms. Lynch set up with her own Phoenix, I assume those ‘issues’ have worked themselves out?” Charlotte’s father asked her lightly. Despite the tone, Charlotte detected the steel underneath it. Charlotte had indeed been dragging her feet on getting Becky assigned one of the team’s standard fighters. Somehow she’d felt that, if she did, she’d be helping close the door on AJ.

 

“I’ll get right on it when I leave here,” Charlotte said, hoping that this would lead to a dismissal.

 

“One last thing baby girl…” Ric said as he turned to face his daughter fully “...We’re going to do a formal contract signing in two days to announce Becky to the world. I want you to make sure everyone is there. We need to remind everyone that the Pegasi are still here and that we’re still going to compete for that cup.”

 

“A contract signing?” Charlotte asked.

 

“Yes, a big ceremony. We’ll have Becky officially sign her team documents there and then we’ll do a press conference. I’m sure they’ll have questions for you darling so be ready for that…” Ric said before adding, as an afterthought: “ And make sure Sasha is ON TIME and on her best behavior.”

 

Charlotte winced. He might as well have asked her to make sure that it rained in space.

 

“I’m on it,” she said wryly.

 

“That’s my girl, I think Corey wanted to speak to you too,” Ric said.

 

“I’ll go see him,” Charlotte said dully as she stood and left her father’s office.

 

Corey Graves was the team’s business manager. His responsibilities were wide-ranging but essentially could be summarized as everything that didn’t have to do directly with the team itself. He negotiated contracts, booked appearances, handled the media, and pretty much everything else that came up. Charlotte wasn’t sure she liked the man, but she knew he was very good at his job.

 

Grave’s office was on the floor below that of her father. He shared this floor with Charlotte and Bob Holly as the three senior-most staff of the team. After stepping out of the elevator she walked to Grave’s office and knocked. Without waiting for an answer she pushed inside to find Graves on his headset.

 

“No, listen to me on this my friend. She may not be the original but she’s even better! Just think about how she’ll connect with a wider market! I’m telling you, man, you want to jump on board this hyper-loop now!” he was saying animatedly as he looked out of his large window out at Suplex City. When he noticed Charlotte he beckoned her in and motioned her to a chair.

 

Graves had once been a pilot himself but hadn’t ever made it far in Sky Knights. This was due to a catastrophic injury he’d sustained when forced to bail out of a damaged craft. The medics had saved his life and restored most of his functionality but he’d decided that it wasn’t worth getting back into the cockpit again. Charlotte could sympathize with him on that level, she had no idea what she’d do if she couldn’t fly anymore. But Graves’ mercenary outlook on life and tendency to view her pilots as commodities and not as people could really grate on Charlotte.

 

Graves stayed on his call for another few minutes while Charlotte stewed but eventually disconnected and turned to look at her. The man tattoos on almost all his exposed skin and was wearing an elegant vest combo. “Thanks for coming, we need to talk,” he said without any further preamble.

 

“About?” Charlotte prompted him.

 

“Endorsements,” Graves said simply as he picked up a ball from his desk and began to bounce it off the wall. This was one of his habits and it annoyed the hell out of Charlotte, who worked in the office next to his. 

 

“What about them?” Charlotte asked, who couldn’t care less about them at the moment.

 

“Specifically, AJ’s old accounts,” Graves said, in a voice that made it clear that he had no idea how much turmoil he’d just caused in Charlotte’s hearts. To hear about AJ so casually from someone who hadn’t really known her felt...wrong. When Charlotte didn’t do anything more than nod he went on. “We’re in danger of losing the sponsorships that were tied to her personally. Now, I think we can convince some of them to go to you, Banks, or Martinez. But I need to know more about this new pilot.”

 

“Her personnel file is in the database,” Charlotte said tightly.

 

“And what the hell am I supposed to do with that? It’s just a collection of facts! I need to learn more ABOUT her. How the hell can I market someone I don’t know anything about?” Graves demanded. Charlotte sighed heavily as she pressed a hand to her face.

 

“Well, you’re going about this in the perfect way Corey. If you want to know more about someone you should definitely prevent her boss, who hasn’t known her very long at all. Definitely, don’t ask HER about HERSELF,” Charlotte said in a voice too tired to be sarcastic.

 

“Usually when I try to talk to ‘your’ pilots during the day you get all angry,” Graves said sullenly.

 

Charlotte was too tired to have this old argument again. Shaking her head she stood and said: “You know what Corey? Fine. I’ll send Lynch up and you can use a craniometer on her or something.”

 

“When?” was all Graves asked in response.

 

“Later,” was the equally laconic response. As Charlotte got into the elevator again and tapped several commands into the wrist com there. She then opened a channel and said: “All pilots to briefing room two.”

 

“ _ Acknowledged,”  _ Bayley said, first as always.

 

“ _ Got it,”  _ came Lynch’s voice. There then came a very long pause that made Charlotte roll her eyes.

 

“SASHA!” Charlotte snapped.

 

“ _ WHAT _ ?!” her friend’s voice shot back.

 

“BRIEFING ROOM TWO!”

 

“ _ My hearing hasn’t gone since you last saw me this morning Charlotte!”  _

 

Rather than respond Charlotte simply closed the channel. She was the first one to reach the briefing room and as she sat and watched she was able to perfect guess the order of arrival of her teammates. First was Bayley, as always, Charlotte’s friend seemed to greet every day and every task with the eagerness of a puppy. Next came Becky Lynch, Charlotte didn’t know her but this was inevitable because of the last arrival. Since leaving the military Sasha had made it a point of pride to be late to almost everything and so was the last to arrive.

 

Even as they arrived Charlotte could tell that something was wrong between Bayley and Sasha. She’d know them both too long to not be well attuned to their moods, never mind the fact that she was their team leader. Bayley’s smile was a bit too fixed today and Sasha was standing about as far away from her as was possible. 

 

Bayley and Sasha and fighting was nothing new to Charlotte, or to anyone who knew them both. They’d more or less been at it since they’d met. But this bickering, which Charlotte suspected they both actually liked, rarely had any sort of lasting effect. But today, something seemed different between them.

 

Charlotte studied this for a few moments before decided to file it away for later. She did this automatically, slipping into her familiar leadership role. Noting and seeing to the emotional health of those under her had just become second nature to her by now. She’d even caught herself automatically observing Becky Lynch and seeing how tense the woman was. She was sitting as though she might need to spring up and fight for her life at any moment. But she told herself to stop doing this, it was a waste of her time.

 

“Alright team, listen up,” she said as she stood and put her hands on the back of her chair. “My dad as just told me that we have a exhibition match coming up next week against the Undisputed era over Enceladus.” She turned to look at Lynch at this, wondering if the woman might not know who the other team was. But Lynch’s expression made clear that she knew exactly who Charlotte was talking about.

 

“What? Three on four?” Sasha asked incredulously.

 

“Becky will be flying with us,” Bayley said, though Charlotte noted she didn’t turn around to look at Sasha as she did. Very interesting.

 

“Like I said then...a ship down!” Sasha said venomously. Charlotte saw that Lynch was filling her lungs to respond when she stepped in with a raised voice.

 

“Enough! Sasha, shut it! Were doing this match and we’re going to win god damn it. That means we're back to two a day sim runs and film study. I also want each of you to read the dossiers on the UE’s pilots,” she said sharply.

 

“We should do a live training exercise to Charlotte,” Bayley suggested.

 

“I’m working on it Bay, we’ll have the  _ Equite  _ take us out system and we’ll do some flying in a few days,” Charlotte said, acknowledging the suggestion with a nod. Steeling herself she then turned to Lynch and said: “That mean’s you’ll need a  _ Phoenix _ , I’ll have two put two dropped into Bayley’s hanger so she can help you with any refits you might want to do. We don’t have much time but anything you can do in it is up to you.”

 

She saw that Bayley and Sasha had grasped the significance of this statement right away. Charlotte had to give Becky some ships, but she hadn't allowed her to claim the fourth hanger. Sasha looked smugly triumphant at this while Bayley looked concerned. 

 

“Alright...thanks,” Lynch said, clearly wanting to be eager but sensing the somewhat ambiguous mood.

 

“And that reminds me Lynch, head upstairs and go introduce yourself to Corey Graves. He wants to speak to you about some of our sponsorships,” Charlotte said, trying to sound casual. But Sasha pounced.

 

“AJ’s sponsorships?” she asked darkly.

 

Charlotte closed her eyes and waited a moment before saying: “Among others, yes.”

 

“This is bullshit,” Sasha said coldly as she turned toward the door but then she paused. Tuning to glare at Becky she snarled: “Whatever they tell you…you don’t belong here and you will NEVER replace her.” With that, she was gone. For once, Bayley didn’t even try to stop her. 

 

Charlotte took a moment to make sure her voice would be steady as she turned to Lynch and said: “I’m sorry about that.”

 

“I’m getting used to it,” Lynch muttered to the tabletop.

 

“Bayley, can you help her with her ships for the rest of the day? They’ll probably be there by now?” Charlotte asked her friend.

 

“Of course.”

 

“Lynch, head down to Bayley’s hanger as soon as Graves is done with you,” Charlotte said as she stood and left the room. She was heading after Sasha and had a good idea where the other woman would be heading. As she walked she was reminded forcibly of a time long ago when another flight leader had chased a young pilot who had just stormed out of a briefing.

 

_ “Lieutenant!” the voice had snapped behind a much younger Charlotte Flair.  _

 

_ She’d ignored it, knowing she skirting dangerously close to insubordination but not caring. She knew her legs were much longer than her pursuers so she was confident she could get away, temporarily. She was so angry at the moment that she could barely think straight. _

 

_ “Lieutenant do NOT walk away from me that is a direct ORDER!” the voice had snapped. Years of ingrained military training brought Charlotte to a screeching halt. Without having to think her back went ramrod straight and she waited, nostrils flared. _

 

_ “Yes?...CAPTAIN,” Charlotte said, inflecting the rank with as much scorn as she could while staying just this side of insubordinate. _

 

_ AJ Lee strode into her field of vision and planted herself in front of Charlotte. She was looking mightily annoyed. “Tell me why I shouldn’t have your ass for the tantrum you just threw in there?” the shorter woman demanded of Charlotte. _

 

_ “Oh you DO have the spine to stand up for yourself but only with your subordinates?...ma’am,” Charlotte said hotly. _

 

_ “Watch it Flair…” AJ said warningly before suddenly deflating and looking very tired. After a moment she covered her eyes with a hand and asked: “What did you think you were going to accomplish by doing this?” _

 

_ “I couldn’t stand in there watching you just eat shit over something that wasn’t your fault! How could you just sit back and listen to that moron!” Charlotte demanded. _

 

_ “That ‘moron’ is your superior officer and you WILL remember that or you’ll be a flight officer again by the end of the day. Understood Lieutenant?” AJ snapped in a voice as hard as iron. Charlotte glared back but her innate respect for AJ overcame her anger. _

 

_ “Yes...ma’am,” she said sullenly. AJ stared into her eyes for a few until Charlotte finally looked down. _

 

_ “Do you think I don’t know that Colonel Jillian FUCKING Hall is a dumb cunt whose never flown a meaningful mission in her life?...” AJ suddenly hissed. Charlotte looked up in surprise at this but AJ’s gaze was still like razors so she dropped her eyes again. “Well?” AJ demanded again. _

 

_ “No...ma’am,” Charlotte said quietly. _

 

_ “And do you think it’s helping me or the rest of the squadron to have my XO storming out of briefings like a child?” AJ demanded. _

 

_ “No…” Charlotte said, suddenly feeling ashamed. _

 

_ “I NEED you to set a better example! I already have one hothead in the squadron with Banks I do NOT need my XO being one as well. If you lead these people they will follow you but you HAVE to be better!” AJ said, suddenly speaking with even more intensity than she had when she was angry. _

 

Back in the present Charlotte snapped out of these memories just as she exited the elevator and headed down the short hallway to the roof access stairs. She had a rogue pilot of her own to talk to, and she just hoped she could do it half as well as her friend once had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pegasi rolls onward! I know we're in the middle of some serious world building at the moment BUT I promise we're heading into some more action-packed times!
> 
> I felt like Charlotte has been sort of hovering the background for a while so I wanted to bring her out onto the stage with the other Pegasi. How do you think she's doing as a leader at the moment? How do you think the Pegasi will do vs the Undisputed Era?
> 
> If you like this story (and I certainly hope you do!) please consider leaving a comment or a kudo. I always try to interact with your comments and actually love doing it! Also, don't forget to bookmark!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: Becky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becky is finally able to take her new ship out for a spin in her first living flying exercise with the team.

“Now?”

 

“Hang on!” Becky shouted back. She was sitting in the cockpit of her ship, her NEW ship. Despite how less than ideal many aspects of her situation were, she couldn’t help but smile. She was sitting in a _Phoenix-Class_ space superiority that was, at least for now, hers.  And a _Phoenix_ , moreover, that was painted in the gold and blue of the Pegasi.

 

The ship had arrived for her that morning, summoned from wherever the Pegasi kept the unused vessels in their fleet. When Becky had heard she’d cut her morning workout short so she could throw on some clothes and sprint down the hanger she was sharing with Bayley Martinez. The fact that she was forced to share rather than be given the final, presently unoccupied, hanger had rankled at first. It was an obvious sign of the team's reservation at fully accepting her. But that feeling had gone the moment’s she’d first seen HER ship.

 

 _Phoenix_ ’s really were amazing feats of engineering. Their gently curving lines drew your eyes along their sleek hulls. More important than their beauty was their performance. Some ships were faster, some were more maneuverable, others were more rugged, and still, others hit harder. But by almost universal consensus of the pilot community, no fighter balanced all these things as well as the _Phoenix._

 

As exceptional as these crafts were in their ‘stock’ state, Becky had no intention of leaving well enough alone. Few pilots on any competitive level chose to leave their ships as they came out of the factory, most wanted to tinker with them in search of a competitive edge. More than this, it was also a way for pilots to make their ships an expression of themselves as individuals. Becky’s had spent countless hours working on her old _Dart_ making sure it was entirely suited to her.

 

Remembering her old ship sent a pang of guilt through her for a moment as she looked over her shoulder. She didn’t see anything but the side of the cockpit but she knew her _Dart_ was parked securely in one of the hanger corners. She felt somewhat as though she were neglecting her ship, even abandoning it, by being so excited by her brand new _Phoenix_.

 

She was snapped out of this reverie when Martinez called to her again. “Becky?” the other woman asked from where she was perched on one the ship’s wings, her voice filtering down through the open cockpit hatch.

 

“Sorry! Testing now!” Becky shouted back as she hit a control on the ship’s maintenance panel. A moment later Becky heard the sound that indicated power was flowing through the ship. She didn’t start the engines but instead rested both hands on her control stick and gently squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened. She tried again, still nothing.

 

“Anything?” Martinez called.

 

“Nothing!” Becky shouted back. The pair of them had been working on Becky’s ship all morning. For general maintenance and repairs, Becky was happy to allow other technicians to do their work. But when it came to this kind of customization work, Becky preferred to work on her own. She’d even initially been hesitant to let Martinez work with her despite knowing the woman’s reputation as a mechanic.

 

But the other woman had suggested they start by simply discussing what Becky was hoping to do with her ship. As they’d talked Becky, who was an accomplished mechanic herself, had been very impressed by both Martinez’s general technical knowledge but especially by her specific knowledge of the fighters.

 

“In the early day’s I did all the team maintenance myself,” Martinez had explained.

 

“All of it?” Becky had asked incredulously. She remembered the sheer amount of work that had been generated by her own ship as a freelance pilot. The idea of keeping up with the work from four ships was extremely daunting. Becky’s estimation of the other woman rose at this.

 

“Yep,” Bayley said casually, as though it were nothing to do this.

 

In the end, Becky had relented and they’d both set to work on the ship. They’d quickly overhauled the engines and now they were working on the ship’s weapon systems. This was where pilots usually made their ships conform to their personality. Martinez, for example, featured only minimal truly offensive weaponry. Instead, they featured a variety of devices and ‘weapons’ designed to allow her to either disable or take control of an enemy ship.

 

Sasha Banks, on the other hand, favored a more direct practice. She was famous in Sky Knights for the three hex cannons she mounted under her ship’s cockpit which she had collectively dubbed ‘ _menage a trois_ ’. Hex cannons consumed enormous amounts of power but offered blistering firepower. To accommodate three of them, Banks had to carry an enormous generator that dramatically decreased the amount of armor and shielding she could carry without overburdening the ship. The fact that she did so, was a testament to her supreme confidence in her abilities.

 

Becky was closer Banks than Martinez, but she still had a style all her own. Becky’s former ship had featured a pair of triple cannons mounted on top and underneath the nose of her ship. She had called them her ‘six-pack’. Now that she had her _Phoenix,_ which lacked the long nose of her _Dart_ , she had to reconsider the arrangement.

  
Fortunately for her, working in a Pegasi hanger was like being a child in a candy store. Becky had been astounded when she browsed the inventory she’d had sent to her datatab. After some discussions with Martinez, she’d opted to mount triple cannons under each wing and then to add a warhead launcher under the nose. The second part would take multiple days, the _Phoenix_ design was endlessly versatile but adding something as complicated as a launcher wasn’t ever a quick process.

 

So they’d set to work on the cannons. Unlike Banks’ hex cannons Becky preferred slower firing models that put an emphasis on precise heavy blows rather than simply flinging an overwhelming volume of fire at an opponent. The team had had the parts in stock at the building so once they’d arrived she and Martinez and set to work. But now that it was time to test, they were failing her.

 

Ordinarily, firing ship-mounted cannons inside a structure you wanted to remain standing was a very bad idea. But, like all Sky Knights weapons, Becky’s had been set to fire simulated lasers. The low power beams were little more than flashes of light but they would register on an enemy ships competition scanners as hits, scaled appropriately to their relative powers. Simulated ‘Warheads’ detonated to spread a visible cloud of charged particles that would have the same effect.

 

Many an unscrupulous pilot had tried to tamper with the competition scanners in the past. The practice was still common in less well organized or outlaw Sky Games. But in Sky Knights, with its rigorous pre and post-match inspections as well as live monitoring, it was almost impossible to do this and thus the practice had died out.

 

“Does your HUD register them as firing?” Martinez called. Becky looked down and squeezed the trigger several more times but saw nothing on her display.

 

“No!”

 

There was a pause during which Becky assumed Martinez was thinking. A few moments later the other pilot suggested: “Maybe we should look into the power connections again?”

 

“Alright,” Becky said as she began to clamber up out of the cockpit.

 

“I still can’t believe you handled an entire team’s maintenance all by yourself,” Becky said as she joined Martinez by an open wing panel.

 

“I’m surprised you didn’t know, the media made a really big deal about it. I got really annoying trying to work with holocameras everywhere,” Martinez answered distractedly as she pulled a small maintenance sensor off her belt and ran it over the mass of wires beneath the panel.

 

“Well I knew you were a good mechanic but I didn’t know that part,” Becky admitted. She’d been something of a superfan of the Pegasi for a very long time and had followed their exploits and press.

 

“Sometimes I miss those days, but then I get a full night’s sleep after a match and it goes away,” Martinez laughed.

 

“Banks and Flair don’t look after their own ships?” Becky asked. She supposed this might be common in the Titanium cup where most teams were wealthy enough to afford a support staff. But on the Iron Cup, where she’d just come from, most pilots had to be their own mechanics.

 

“They can, but they mostly know patch jobs they picked up in the military. The kind of thing that is meant to just keep a ship flying long enough to reach proper techs,” Martinez answered.

 

“I know the type, I started out on those and sort learned the rest as I went,” Becky said. During her military career, Becky and her squadron had been stationed on a world so distant that it hadn’t been given a name, just an alphanumeric designation. They’d seen a fair amount of action but their remoteness had meant that they’d had to improves a great deal to keep going. When their chief tech had been killed, they all had to learn to chip in on maintenance. But Becky had shown the most aptitude and within a few months, she’d been formally promoted to head mechanic for her squadron.

 

She’d gotten good enough that she’d even been offered a two-rank promotion if she’d wanted to transfer out of the starfighter corps and formally become a tech. But she loved flying too much so she’d just continued to wear both hats until her unit had been recalled. Shortly after that she’d left the service and had tried to set up as a private mechanic. But she’d missed the excitement of flying and after breaking into Sky Knights she’d had the opportunity to both fly and work on her ship.

 

“Part of the reason I was excited to have you on the team was that I read about how good a mechanic you are. I didn’t really have anyone to talk about this stuff with except Bob and...well...you can guess what sort of conversationalist he is,” Martinez said as she put the sensor away and took a power spanner off her belt.

 

Becky smiled but didn’t answer as she stared down into the wing. She liked Martinez, she had a hard time imagining anyone who wouldn’t, but she was still reserved around her. This was due to her uncertainty as to if Martinez was so nice to her because she actually liked Becky, if that was just she always did, or (worst of all) if she felt sorry for her. Becky desperately wanted to be accepted as the woman’s teammate, to seize this potentially career-making opportunity, but she also didn’t want to be a charity case. She would earn her way onto this team or she’d leave on her own.

 

Not that it seemed likely to come to that. Martinez might be nice but the rest of her ‘teammates’ were far from. Charlotte Flair’s attitude might best be described as ‘distant’ while Sasha Banks had made no secret of the fact that she saw Becky as an interloper. Becky had hoped her consistently good simulator scores might change the other pilot’s mind, but if anything it seemed to irritate Banks.

 

It was always said that you should never meet your heroes, and Becky was becoming living proof of the adage.

 

She and Martinez worked on her ship into the evening before they decided to call it a night. Becky then returned to her room, showered, and the grabbed some food from the chow hall. Thankfully, she was the only pilot present, so she was able to sit at the pilot's table without dealing with Flair’s withdrawn silences or Banks’ barbed comments. After dinner, it was an early bedtime and then her day reset.

 

The team was still doing two simulator sessions a day as well as a film study session. Becky enjoyed the simulators well enough, the battle pods really were remarkable, except for the beginning and end when she had to deal with Banks. The film study sessions were harder to deal with because she was trapped in a small dark room with three women who all knew each other very well as a newcomer.

 

This routine lasted until Friday when she received an alert that the next day they would be heading to the edge of the Sol System for living flying exercises. She noted that no one, not even Martinez, had actually come to tell her this in person and wondered if that was normal or if this was more evidence of her alienation from the team. Nonetheless, she was ready in her cockpit at the appointed time, dressed for deep space flying.

 

“ _Alright Pegasi, check-in,”_ Flair’s voice crackled over the cockpit speakers.

 

“ _Pegasi two of three, receiving,”_ Banks chimed in. Becky gritted her teeth not only at the blatant insult but the fact that Flair did nothing to reprimand her wingmate.

 

“ _Pegasi three, online,”_ Martinez said. She’d been assigned AJ Lee’s old call sign now that Becky was the most junior of the group. It was hard to tell through the distortion but Becky thought she detected a slight disapproving note in the other pilot’s voice.

 

“ _Pegasi four-”_ Becky started to say before she was interrupted.

 

“ _You wish,”_ Banks said airily. Becky turned off her mic for a moment to snarl in frustration.

 

“ _...-online and showing green,”_ Becky finished tartly.

 

“ _Hanger control, open the roofs please,”_ Flair said, once again not stepping in to slap down Banks.

 

“ _Acknowledged Ms. Flair, stand by,”_ came the voice of a controller. A moment later sunlight began to spill into the hanger Becky shared with Martinez as the roof began to split apart.

 

“ _Rendezvous with the Equite at the following coordinates. Baley, Lynch, dock in the port side hanger,”_ Flair said. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t necessary for the carrier to transport the fighters the relatively short distance to the edge of the Sol system. But Flair had explained that the team always kept the ship nearby during live flight exercises as a precaution. When Becky contemplated the horrors of an accident forcing her to eject into the vacuum with only her suit’s environmental field for protection, she was grateful for this.

 

The flight out through Suplex Citie’s multiple atmospheric and defensive shields only took a few minutes but as she ascended Becky took the time to appreciate the view of the space city. It really was a marvel, as were it’s many hundreds of counterparts.

 

Docking with the _Equite_ was also very simple and when she set her ship down on its landing gear in the port side docking bay Flair spoke to the group again. “ _Should only be about twenty minutes to our destination so just stay in your cockpits team.”_ It was actually closer to half an hour later before she next spoke saying: “ _Alright, launch.”_

 

Becky didn’t need telling twice, she’d been getting very antsy while being forced to wait. Pushing her throttle forward she burst out of the hanger bay, and out into deep space. Her sensors showed Martinez following at a more deliberate pace.

 

“ _Form by wing pairs, Bayley and Lynch head to a point seven hundred thousand klicks off the Equite’s stern, we’re doing the same off the bow. When both pairs arrive you are greenlit to engage the other,”_ Flair said matter of factly.

 

Becky’s stomach suddenly began to tie itself in knots. This was it, her first real flying as a member, however grudgingly, of the team. She’d dreamed of this moment, of flying with the Pegasi, for so long and it was finally here. She was determined not to do anything to embarrass herself. This had to go perfectly.

 

“ _Becky, are you receiving?”_ Martinez’s voice suddenly asked in Becky’s ear. Looking down, Becky saw that she was contacting her via their private wingmate channel.

 

“ _I hear you,”_ Becky answered as she slowed her ship’s pace before turning toward their appointed starting point. This would allow them more time to strategize. She only belatedly realized that this was probably why Martinez had taken her time out of the hanger. It was so obvious now that Becky was already kicking herself for not doing so herself.

 

“ _It probably won’t surprise you that I think Sasha is going to come right at you,”_ Martinez said,

 

“ _No...it wouldn’t,”_ Becky answered sardonically. She could practically hear Banks licking her chops at the prospect.

 

“ _So I think we should castle on her,”_ Martinez suggested. ‘Castling’ was a chess term that had been adopted by competitive flyers to signify a strategy where a wing pair would ignore an obviously attempted matchup by an opponent and instead do the exact opposite. In this case, Becky would simply focus in on Charlotte. This would force Banks to either break off her planned attack on Becky to engage Bayley OR to chase after Becky and leave herself open to Bayley.

 

“ _What about the approach?”_ Becky asked, noting she was only seconds away from the starting point.

 

“ _Fullback lead,”_ Martinez answered quickly, obviously seeing the same thing Becky was.

 

The ‘approach’ was often the most dangerous part of any fighter engagement, real or simulated. This was when both sides would close on each other at high speed. This was when everyone could shoot at everyone else and before the dogfighting began. The advantage here would go to more heavily armed and armored craft as well as to those with long-range weaponry.

 

However, if the ships survived they would pass through each other in opposite directions. Then the fight would turn to a situation where the more maneuverable craft, the ones able to turn around fastest,  would have the edge. The slower craft would often end up in a situation where they were forced to try to evade the pursuit of more agile ones. All the Pegasi were flying the same kind of craft and thus would be moving at about the same speeds, so in this case, the approach and turn would be a matter of skill and not matchup.

 

The ‘Fullback Lead’ was an approach tactic in which one fighter would tuck in directly behind another. The leading craft would then throw all available power into its forward shields as it absorbed more fire than it otherwise might have. This approach had the advantage of bringing the second craft the battle completely unscathed as well as forcing the enemy to make a split second reaction to what it did when the pair finally passed the enemy.

 

“ _I’ll take lead,”_ Becky said.

 

“ _You sure?”_ Martinez asked, obviously concerned about how Becky would handle this role in her first live flight session.

 

“ _Yes, just be ready to pick off Banks,”_ Becky said, forcing herself to banter. Truthfully she was very nervous but she knew the worst thing she could do was show it.

 

“ _Alright,”_ Martinez said just as they reached their appointed starting point.

 

“ _Engage!”_ Flair’s voice suddenly sounded over the team channel.

 

Gritting her teeth Becky jammed her throttles forward and streaked toward the still too distant to see other fighters. A quick look down told her that Martinez had tucked in behind her.

 

“ _Sasha’s cannon’ will eat your shields if you aren’t careful so shunt anything you can to your shields! But the sheer number of blasts coming in can also blind you!”_ Bayley told her.

 

“ _Acknowledged,”_ Becky said tightly. She actually knew this already, the commentators on the matches she’d watched featuring the Pegasi always made sure to highlight both of these points. With a quick few taps, Becky dumped everything besides her engines, life support, and weapons into the shields before switching them to double front. Then brought up her targeting hud and felt the thumb trigger on top of her stick.

 

Though it felt like it took days, it was in fact only a few seconds before her targeting system began to beep at her, indicating it was seeking a target lock on the approaching enemy. At the same time, another tone told her that those enemy were seeking targeting locks on her. Ordinarily, she would have been maneuvering to try and shake these but their present approach tactic dictated that she simply barrel straight ahead.

 

“ _Preparing an EMP burst, detonating now,”_ Martinez said. Some small part of Becky, the part that had watched so many Pegasi matches, knew that this meant the other woman was releasing a mine from the rear of her craft. She would detonate it almost instantly as her fighter’s forward momentum would carry her clear in a second. The hope being that the advancing enemy craft would fly right into the blast.

 

Becky knew all this on some level but not consciously. She was concentrating too hard. The moment her targeting computer had given a solid tone she’d mashed her thumb trigger sending a dummy missile streaking out toward the two approaching fighters. She didn’t have time to observe it’s flight though as less than a second later the combined speed of the two pairs brought them within moments of passing.

 

Then Sasha Banks opened fire.

 

Martinez hadn’t been exaggerating. The cumulative effect of the three hex cannons fire wasn’t just extremely damaging to Becky’s shields, but it was dazzling. It resembled nothing so much as a fireworks display in space, completely obscuring Becky’s vision. Fortunately, it didn’t last very long as the crafts had passed. But the full effect of the barrage only became apparent them. Becky’s eyes were still dazzled and lights danced in front of her. She blinked rapidly trying to clear her vision but this took precious seconds.

 

“ _BECKY! Watch out!”_ Martinez’s voice shouted over the comm. Too late, Becky realized her mistake, in the few seconds that she’d been trying to clear her vision Charlotte Flair had swung around and gotten onto her tail even as Banks and Martinez spiraled off in a different direction.

 

“SHIT!” Becky swore as she went into a frantic evasive pattern. It had generally worked for her to shake pursuit in previous competitive settings.  

 

But she’d never been trying to evade Charlotte Flair before.

 

She wasn’t as vocal about it as her wingmate, but Charlotte was an exceptional pilot. Whatever Becky tried to do to evade her, the other woman mirrored it perfectly. All the time Becky heard the pulsing tone that indicated that Flair was seeking a lock. Becky knew that when it became one solid tone, it would mean she was in the other pilot’s sights.

 

Sending her ship spiraling downward Becky tried an inverted loop but Flair stayed with her the whole time. In desperation, Becky tried a very basic trick, hoping that Flair might not be expecting something to elementary. She simply killed all her forward thrust, hoping the other woman would shoot out ahead of her. No such luck.

 

Flair simply shot upward in a graceful loop that brought her right back into position behind Becky. Unfortunately, her maneuver had brought Becky to a near stop. Before she could even begin building up the speed necessary to escape, Flair opened fire with the four cannons mounted on her fighter. Simulated laser stitched Becky’s shields, shredding them in seconds. By the time Becky was moving again her stern was naked and her hull readout was reading red for her after quarter.

 

Fighters equipped for simulated combat had to be fitted with competitive inhibitors. These devices were attached to a ship’s generator and choked power to certain systems in proportion to the simulated ‘damage’ done to them.  In this case, Becky’s engines weren’t firing at nearly full efficiency. She tried to dive out harm's way but her ship was simply too sluggish. Flair stayed on her and a few salvos later, Becky’s entire ship stopped moving as her readout informed her that she had been eliminated from the match.

 

“DAMN IT!” Becky screamed as she pounded on her HUD. Her first opportunity to impress and she’d flown like a damn rookie. All she could do now was watch her readout helplessly.

 

Martinez, as per their agreed tactic, had hared off in an effort to draw Banks away. This had worked but now she was doing her best to try and evade the other flyer. Becky watched the screen as Martinez sent her ship dancing and spinning through space, managing to frustrate Banks’ attempt to gain a target lock. This didn’t stop the other pilot from filling the space between the two ships with a steady hail of lasers in the hope that she could clip Martinez’s shields.

 

Just then Becky saw the blip indicating Flair’s ship closing in on Martinez and Banks. Becky’s wingmate obviously saw this as well as she sent her ship shooting upward before Flair could line up a shot. But Banks was right on her tail and managed to pound Martinez’s rear shields.

 

Becky’s temper was fraying as she was forced to watch this happen. She should have been there covering Martinez, that was what wingmates were for. Instead, she was stuck here after having embarrassed herself.

 

Then Martinez pulled a maneuver that only a true Pegasi could.

 

With two pursuers hot on her tail, Becky’s wingmate suddenly sent her ships spinning on its axis while keeping it on its original course. The effect was that in a blink her ship seemed to be flying backward through space. Becky watched, mouth agape as a small dot appeared on her screen, representing some kind of projectile, and streaked toward Flair’s ship. A moment later it vanished, and Flair’s ship suddenly turned red on the readout.

 

“ _Damn it!”_ Flair said over the team channel. Becky was surprised, she’d never heard the woman express her emotions so vehemently. Before anyone could reply, Martinez gunned her engines for all they were worth. Of course, she’d still been moving in the opposite direction, so she was forced to first arrest this momentum before she could begin moving again. It had to be terrible for the ship’s hull, but with most pilot’s it would have sprung her.

 

Sasha Banks wasn’t most pilots.

 

Her reflexes were equal to the task. Before her ship could shoot past Martinez’s she filled space with a hail of laser fire. Martinez’s shields took a beating but she managed to scrape away. But Banks was on her tail in a blink. They began their pursuit dance again, Martinez trying to escape and Banks not letting her. At first, Becky wondered why Banks was wasting so much energy by simply shooting around Martinez when she had little chance of hitting her. But then Becky realized what she was doing, at the same she did it.

 

She was using her extreme firepower to herd Martinez and to force her into an evasive pattern. This continued for a few seconds but eventually, she was able to launch a warhead slightly to the starboard of Martinez while using her cannons to fill space to her port. Naturally, Martinez dove to escape but Banks had also used the opportunity to slow her momentum and thus was easily able to send her ship onto a course that provided her with a perfect shot at the other ship’s belly.

 

A few moments later it was over.

 

“ _You almost got away that time Bay,”_ Banks said over the team channel.

 

“ _At least I got Charlotte,”_ Martinez responded.

 

“ _I forgot about your damned EMP stingers,”_ Flair put in, referring to some of Martinez’s custom weaponry.

 

Becky listened to the banter as it flowed onward, stewing in silence. She was still furious at herself but now it this was turning into motivation within her. The next round they’d win.

 

They didn’t. But they did on the one after that.

 

On the whole day was a mixed bag for Becky. She and Martinez only won three out of eleven encounters where they went wing pair against wing pair. But Becky improved a little bit each time and even managed to dust Flair twice. But on the other hand, and most significantly to Becky, she not only failed to ever dust Banks but she never even got a solid hit on the woman.

 

Banks was a magician in a cockpit, there was simply no denying it. She flew as though she knew what her opponent would do a moment before they did. And it seemed as though she could make her ship dance through space before it would appear to simply vanish. In one position in one moment and in a blink you’d suddenly find her on your tail.

 

Becky was confident she was a damned good flyer. But even she was doubting if she’d ever be on the same level as Sasha Banks.

 

It was in this grim reverie that Becky set her ship down gently in the _Equite_ ’s port side docking bay. A moment later she was climbing up through her cockpit hatch just in time to watch Martinez’s ship touchdown leisurely nearby.

 

The time they’d spent flying had taught Becky more about her wingmate than all the countless hours she’d spent watching Martinez fly on holo. The pilot was cautious, and deliberate when she flew. She played it safe and simply focused on evading or other frustrating her opponents until they made a mistake. Then she would pounce. It was this approach that had allowed her to dust Banks twice that day. Becky simply didn’t have the temperament to fly like that, but she could definitely admire it.

 

“Lynch! _”_ a voice suddenly called from behind Becky. Spinning, and only belatedly realizing that she looked guilty as sin, Becky saw Charlotte Flair approaching from the hanger entrance. Becky clammed up and waiting for the tall blonde reach her fighter. It was only then that it occurred to her that she should probably hop down to the deck.

 

“Captain,” she said cautiously.

 

Flair ignored her for several seconds and just stared at Becky with disconcerting intensity. It was all Becky could do to keep from flinching away. After what felt like a very long time Flair’s shoulders seemed to slump slightly, as though she’d just made a hard decision.

 

“You were in the fleet, I assume you remember pissing your suit?” she asked, with a strained smile on her face.

 

This question wasn’t as potentially offensive as it sounded. ‘Pissing your suit’ was pilot’s slang for a tradition observed when a rookie pilot notched their first kill. Their wingmate would then keep them in drinks until neither could stand and that was that.

 

Becky had ‘pissed’ her own suit after a nameless skirmish that no one not involved now remembered. But she’d blown an enemy craft to bits and had thus been entitled to her ritual. Part of its purpose was to drown any sort of guilt a younger pilot might be feeling, something important since you didn’t want people breaking down on extended tours. But also important was the simple fact that pilots LOVED their drinks.

 

“The Riconic system,” Becky answered, this was the standard way to respond to this question.

 

“Helms-2,” Charlotte answered, automatically it seemed. It struck Becky that even with Flair, who clearly didn’t relish talking with her, the ingrained tradition of the starfighter corps was powerful enough to make her play along. “In any case, there’s a lounge in the forward section of deck 15, I hope we’ll see you and Bayley there,” Flair said, sounding as though she were making a great effort to not sounding grudging about it

 

Becky was almost tempted to say no, despite her instinct to leap the offer. If Flair, and probably Banks, detested her company so much than screw them. As this debated flared inside her she suddenly felt herself being elbowed aside just as Martinez’s voice said: “We’ll be there, just give us some time to freshen up.” Flair smiled tightly before spinning on her heel and walking away.

“I don’t need or want you to speak for me Martinez,” Becky said, speaking as harshly as she ever had to the other pilot. She appreciated all her kindness but she didn’t appreciate being mothered all the time.

 

Martinez held up her hands as she spoke in a placatory voice: “I understand, but hear me out.” When Becky didn’t do anything but fold her arms she went on: “I assume you want to be here long term as something more than a pariah?”

 

Becky nodded suspiciously. She was preparing to respond to more hand-holding when Martinez surprised her.

 

“Well quit fucking feeling sorry for yourself, “ Martinez hissed at her. Becky’s head shot up and her eyes flash but Martinez plowed on: “So Sasha Banks is mean to you? Guess what? Sasha is my best friend in the world but sometimes she is STILL a cunt to me! But I NEVER let her do it for long.”

 

“That’s easy for you-” Becky started to say Bayley cut her off.

 

“Charlotte is being distant with you? Then close the damned gap! If you start being standoffish with them then they’ll do it right back and I promise you that they are better at it than you are. So if you become the ‘loner’ here that will make it all the easier for them to toss you out if they ever get any reason to!” Martinez overrode her. “They are TRYING to make you quit on your own so Sasha can feel like she’s ‘protecting’ us and Charlotte doesn’t have to feel guilty about cutting you herself. Don’t...let...them!”

 

“Are you done?” Becky asked, keeping the surprise she felt at hearing Martinez talk like this off her face.

 

“No...” Martinez said, still sounding annoyed “...you did great today, and I’m not just saying that. It would have been weird if you’d been able to dust Sasha and it’s no small trick to get Charlotte either. For someone fresh from the Iron Cup, it was nothing short of miraculous.”

 

“Thank you,” Becky muttered grudgingly. She was caught between the fact that on one hand, she appreciated Martinez trying so hard to help, and agreeing with most of what she’d said. And on the other hand, her hatred of being lectured.

 

“It’s like I told you at breakfast that day, if you let them drive you away they’ll never let you back in. Sasha can be a bitch but if you come right back at her she’ll usually figure it out pretty quick,” Martinez said, more calmly now.

 

“Usually?”

 

“I can’t offer any guarantees. Now let’s get out of these gross clothes and get blind drunk,” Martinez said as she began to walk toward the exit.

 

“Yes ma’am,” Becky muttered under her breath.

 

“Oh and Lynch…” Martinez said pleasantly “...not that you asked but...Chir’dark. Oh and...NEVER call me ma’am.”

 

Becky couldn’t keep a smirk from her face.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean...damn this one took a long time (sorry friends)
> 
> I struggled with the ending for a few days, what did you think? And for that matter, what did you think of the whole chapter? Is this Becky's big chance to fit in? Will she ever be as good as Sasha?
> 
> If you liked what you saw please drop me a comment! I love this! And consider bookmarking, the Pegasi are definitely here to stay.


	8. Chapter 8: Becky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new look Pegasi prepare for their first match as a team, will Becky Lynch be able to hold her own?

Becky Lynch had never been more nervous in her life.

 

She’d thought her ride to the Pegasi HQ before her interview had been nerve-racking but that had been nothing on this. Sitting strapped into her cockpit before her first ever Titanium Cup match, and as a member of the legendary Pegasi no less, for the first time in her life, she felt as though she might throw up in her cockpit.

 

She and her ship were docked in the _Equite_ in orbit around Enceladus. They’d arrived just a few hours beforehand and had been preparing for the match ever since.

 

Becky had been through this ritual countless times, but never on this scale and never with this much attention. In preparation for their trip, Ric Flair had allowed a whole contingent of reporters aboard the vessel, all of whom had made the journey with them. In her fantasies about someday joining the Pegasi Becky had always imagined this kind of media attention would be glamorous. As it turned it was closer to onerous.

 

Having been fairly successful on the Iron Cup, some would say ‘very’, Becky had dealt with some attention before. She’d done interviews and of course, had cut ads for her sponsors. But these had always been very small affairs. By its very nature the Iron Cup simply didn’t attract the kind of attention that the Steel and Titanium cups did. Whenever there were holo updates on the three leagues, the Iron Cup was invariably mentioned last and with the least amount of time.

 

The Titanium Cup was a whole different world, and especially when you were a Pegasi.

 

Because they’d left Earth orbit several days early, the _Equite_ had taken a leisurely pace on her way to Enceladus. Over those days almost every second of Becky’s day had been under constant media scrutiny. She’d thought the swarms of reporters had been bad at her official contract signing, but at least that had only taken an hour or so. This was basically non-stop.

 

Every day when first emerged from her quarters she’d be met by a phalanx of eager media. These would follow her down the chow hall where they would, at least, allow the pilots to eat in peace. Though this was relative since Becky was just trading the irritation of the media for the stony silence of Charlotte Flair and the sniping of Sasha Banks.

 

Immediately after breakfast, the team would adjourn to the onboard simulators where they would spend the rest of the morning training. These sessions were actually going a bit better than the ones at the HQ had for Becky. She still couldn’t really compete with Banks but she at least wasn’t getting brushed aside like an amateur.

 

After the simulators, the team would break for lunch. Charlotte would then meet some reporters with her father and answer questions for a few minutes while the rest of the team returned the simulators. Around three in the afternoon they would break again, shower, and then study film in a conference room a few decks above the simulators. Unfortunately, this room had glass walls and the media were allowed to stand outside so it was a lot like being an animal in a zoo. But Becky had done her best to soak in all the information being presented and she actually thought it had been quite helpful. She’d seen the Undisputed Era fly on the omni-net of course, but she’d never followed them as closely as the Pegasi.

 

After the film study session came the part of Becky’s shipboard life she disliked most: media availabilities. This mostly involved all the pilots sitting at a long table in a large receiving room on the ship. They would answer questions as a team for a while before then breaking apart and going to four individual tables in different corners of the room.

 

Becky and naively assumed that the media might view her team the way she did. She still of herself as plain old Becky Lynch, an ordinary pilot in the company of legends. But of course that wasn’t how the media, and thus the Sky Knights audience saw it at all. They saw her as a mysterious unknown that had been handpicked to be plucked out of obscurity on the Iron Cup and to fly with the famous Pegasi.

 

This, naturally, made her the most compelling narrative of the coming match. Most of the questions directed at the team were about Becky, and when they split off the majority of the media stayed with Becky. Individual media availabilities usually lasted for about an hour and Becky would spend almost all of it answering question after question.

 

“ _Becky! Where are you from?”_

 

“Colony born, New Hibernia in the Kruger system.”

 

_“Becky! How does it feel to a Pegasi?”_

 

“Honestly, I’m not sure I deserve to call myself that until I have my first match at least.”

 

_“Becky! Becky! Did you ever think you’d make it all the way to the Titanium Cup?”_

 

“I always dreamed about it but I never really dared to hope and then one day I got the call and here I am!”

 

“ _How has it been adjusting to flying a Phoenix?”_

 

“It’s been like a dream, they’re the best in space for a reason!”

 

“ _Any truth to the rumors that you’ve been conflicting with your new teammates?”_

 

“None at all.”

 

“ _Are you currently dating Finn Balor from the Bullet Club?”_

 

“Uh, no, I’ve never met him.”

 

_“What your favorite food?”_

 

“Umm...corned beef I guess?”

 

The questions had rained down on her like a torrential rainstorm. By the third day, she felt like she’d answered most of them in some form or another over a hundred times. Yet it seemed she never ran out of eager reporters. There had only been once or twice when she’d had a few minutes to collect her thoughts and during this time she’d tried to glean some tips on how to deal with the media by watching her teammates. What she saw was interesting in that each Pegasi seemed to deal with the media in a way perfectly suited to their character.

 

Flair seemed to conduct her press conferences as though they were a lecture at a university. She’d arranged to have a neat row of seats put in front of her table and she could call on the reporters exactly as though they were students. As part of each set up, there was a large screen behind each pilot that would also flash a transcription of their words up behind them. Through this Becky saw that her Captain was as precise and methodical about her answers as she was about everything.

 

Banks, by contrast, seemed to prefer a kind of contained chaos. She allowed the reporters to form a scrum in front of her table as she slouched in her chair, often wearing her trademark sunglasses. Her answers either bantering or flippant, Becky couldn’t recall her answering even one seriously. Becky had been on edge that Banks might choose to use the media to attack her, but this hadn’t happened. Either the woman had finally come around or, much more plausibly to Becky, Flair had talked to her.

 

Martinez, on the other hand, seemed to just have a gift at connecting with people. She didn’t even sit behind her table but rather chose to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of it with the reporters doing the same. This gave her conferences a very informal feel which was heightened by the fact that she seemed to know most of them individually. She seemed to ask as many questions of them as they did of her.

 

As interesting as all of that had been it was, thankfully, in the past. Back in the present, Becky was just happy to be in her cockpit and ready to do what she was best at.

 

“ _Alright team, our transmission team will go live to the Sky Knight’s feed, in ten, nine, eight-”_ Flair’s voice crackled out of Becky’s cockpit speakers.  Before she could finish counting Sasha’s Banks’ voice cut her off with a long, fluent, and impressive streak of the vilest cursing Becky had ever heard.

 

“ _Very nice,”_ Martinez put in sardonically.

 

“ _Three, two, one…”_ Flair said in a voice that already sounded exhausted. But when she spoke a moment later she was all business as she said: “ _Alright Pegasi, check in.”_

 

_“Pegasi-2, looking good and running hot...the ship’s OK too.”_

 

_“Pegasi-3, still firmly in touch with reality.”_

 

Becky hesitated for a few moments now. This would be her first in match statement as a member of the Pegasi. She’d been trying to think of something memorable to say for almost the entire flight to Enceladus, and she’d come up with a few ideas. But these ideas had completely fled her brain. Realizing that she’d been quiet for too long she cleared her throat, keyed her comm, and said: “Pegasi-4, ready. _”_

 

Her voice actually broke halfway through this statement and her cheeks burned crimson at this. She berated herself inwardly as she swore she heard someone, probably Banks, snort over the comm. What made this worse was that Becky knew her cockpit camera was on, who knew how many viewers would be watching her every move right now. Closing her eyes and taking a steadying breath she fussed with her controls until the command came.

 

“ _Light’em up Pegasi, we’re outbound,”_ Flair said as her own ship lifted off from the deck and then shot out of the hanger. A moment later Banks and Martinez followed, flying wingtip to wingtip as they went. This left Becky to bring up the rear of their diamond formation. As they left the _Equite_ a new voice boomed over their comms.

 

“ _Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this special exhibition contest between the Pegasi and the Undisputed Era! This contest will be a points match. The two teams face off in four head to head rounds. Each round will only end when all four members of a team have been...DUSTED-!”_

 

Becky had heard this voice or others like it, one of the mank Sky Knight’s announcers, literally hundreds of times both as a competitor and as a viewer. But somehow the worlds felt different, much more momentous now that she was here. To give herself something to do she looked down at her readouts for the eighth time since leaving the hanger, all systems were still optimal.

 

“ _-The end of the fourth round, each team’s total losses will be deducted from their kill total. The team with the highest remaining score will be our winner. Now as the teams approach the field of play I’d like to take this moment to thank some of our sponsors for presenting this special match.”_

 

Becky tuned the voice out as she concentrated on maintaining as tight a place in the formation as she could. Banks and Martinez were so close together that they seemed to be flying with one brain and Becky didn’t want to look sloppy. The ‘field of play’ mentioned by the announcer was indicated on Becky’s sensors by hundreds of beacons and to her eyes by the enormous cones of light, these beacons emitted. To leave the field of play was an automatic elimination from the round.

 

“ _We know what they’ll be flying and we’ve studied up on all their pilots. Just remember to stick with the plan and we’ll do fine,”_ Flair’s voice said over the comm. Becky understood, as did the other pilots, that this more for the viewers than them.

 

“ _So rookie, just stay out of my way and let three protect you, maybe you’ll learn something,”_ Banks’ voice answered, the woman could somehow convey a sarcastic tone even through comm distortion. Becky gritted her teeth, the words were actually fairly mild by Banks’ usual standards, but Becky knew this wasn’t a sign of the other pilot warming to her. Banks just knew as well as anyone how important it was to present a unified front to the rest of the galaxy when it came to the team.

 

Now that she was feeling more comfortable, flying always did this, Becky finally decided that she could respond. Though she was woman enough to admit that part of her newfound courage was due to the fact that she knew Banks wouldn’t be too brutal to her while they were being watched. “I’ll try, then maybe someday I can be just as pleasant as you, two _,”_ she said dryly. Another old starfighter corps tradition was that pilots usually only referred to each other by their call numbers while flying.

 

There was an audible snort of laughter at this remark. A quick check of her readout told Becky that it had come from Martinez. Becky was smiling slightly as Flair’s voice cut in: “ _Cut the chatter, we’re only a minute out and the match the begins as soon as we’re all in the field.”_

 

A small blinking light appeared in Becky’s visor indicating she had a private message incoming. Such messages weren’t usually sent during a match as they required a pilot to type them on a holo-keyboard but in transit, they were common as they were one of only two means pilots had to communicate privately during a match. The other was to use their private channels but this had the disadvantage that the viewers could still see a pilot talking even if they couldn’t hear them. As such Sky Knights greatly frowned on the practice.

 

Opening the message Becky saw it was from Martinez. All it said was: “ _That was good, keep it up and she’ll eventually come around.”_

 

Becky wasn’t entirely sure she believed this but she still smiled as she closed the message. Then she was all business as she focused on the growing blueish green light that marked the nearest edge of the field. Her heart began thumping harder as it approached, each second seemed to stretch into an eon as she felt sweat beginning to form on her brow. Out of reflex she reached up and tapped a control on the side of her helmet which activated its cooling unit. It might seem odd to have an air conditioner built into one's helmet but it became less so when one considered the potentially lethal consequences of getting sweat into your eye as you flew.

 

“ _It’s boss time!”_ Banks shouted as the formation passed through the field boundary of the field. At that exact moment, Becky’s board wailed at her indicating the presence of approaching hostiles. A second later four blips appeared on her scanners at the same time as a side monitor lit up to display four tiny wireframe ships and a pilots name next to each. Becky took a second to look at them and saw the names: A. Cole, B. Fish, K. O'Reilly, and R. Strong on her board. She also noted that the Undisputed Era had chosen to fly their _Phoenixes_ as well.

 

“ _Warheads first, target Strong, fire on my mark_ ,” Flair said coolly. This had been arranged before the match among the team. Roderick Strong was considered the weakest flyer on the UE and by targeting all their warheads at him they hoped they might disrupt their opponent's cohesion. Becky flipped up the guard on her thumb trigger and waited tensely. It seemed to take a long time for Flair to say “ _Mark”_ but the moment she did Becky jammed her thumb down.

 

She saw, heard, and felt the missile leave her ship. In real combat one of the more dangerous things about missiles was that they were very hard to spot save for the tiny flare of their engines. But for the sake of the audience, all Sky Knight’s missiles were equipped with flares that activated on launch. This allowed Becky to see her bright red missile join three others from her teammates as they streaked toward the distant enemy fighters.

 

“ _They’re going evasive, break by pairs! Four, cover three. Two, stay with me,”_ Flair barked.

 

“ _I’ll have to slow down then,”_ Banks quipped as she and her wingmate shot upward. Becky didn’t have time to appreciate either the maneuver or the remark as she had to shove her stick forward to dive with Martinez.

 

“ _Aww it looks like Adam and Bobby want to dance with us, one and two will be so disappointed,”_ Martinez said sardonically. Part of Becky desperately wanted to think of some kind of repartee to respond with but a much larger part of her was astounded by how quickly Adam Cole and Bobby Fish and spiraled down after them.

 

She’d seen the UE fly before, she’d even admired them. But experiencing it was a whole other thing. The two pairs of ships were both hurtling down toward the surface of Enceladus on converging paths that would bring them together with a mere three hundred klicks over the surface. But only if they both continued their dives. What was really happening was a high stakes kind of chicken. The first to pull up would have to expose their bellies momentarily to their opponents and likely would end up with their opposite number behind them.

 

“When do we pull up? _”_ Becky asked Martinez.

 

“ _After they do,”_ came the simple response.

 

Becky was decorated former combat pilot but even she would have felt her stomach churn slightly if she’d really considered the breakneck speeds at which the four ships were plummeting toward the surface of the moon. Fortunately, she was concentrating so hard that she didn’t have time to do so. It was somewhat easier in that she was waiting for Martinez to make the decision when to pull up rather than having to do it herself. As first one second and then another ticked by Becky felt her shoulders becoming tighter and tighter. Neither of the UE pilots showed any signs of pulling up, nor did Martinez.

 

Two seconds later she had to ask: “Three? _”_

 

 _“Yes, four?”_ Martinez asked, sounding as though she didn’t have a care in the world.

 

“Should we...? _”_ Becky trailed off, realizing she didn’t want to question her wingmate in front of a live audience.

 

“ _Oh gosh no, just wait until they do,”_ Martinez answered, again sounding remarkably unconcerned for someone who was moving so fast toward that ground that any collision would be instantly fatal.

 

Two more seconds passed and Becky’s collision alarm began to slowly beep. She knew it would get louder and more insistent as she got closer to the ground but Martinez didn’t give any indication that she was thinking of pulling out of the dive. Becky’s feet were gritted so hard now that she thought they might crack. The collision alarm slowly morphing from a slow pulse to a high pitched rapid beeping to one solid screech.

 

“Three?! _”_ she asked in a voice so tight that it was barely audible.

 

“ _Wait for it…”_

 

“We can’t wait much longer,” Becky said, trying and failing to keep her voice calm.

 

“ _Stay on target…”_

 

 _“_ We need to! _-”_

 

_“NOW!”_

 

Becky’s reflexes took over as she jerked back on her control stick as hard as she could while firing every breaking thruster she had. She didn’t have time to see her screen telling her that Cole and Fish had already pulled out of their dive. Even with her inertial compensator engaged Becky still felt herself being driven back into her seat with the overwhelming force created by the maneuver.

 

But almost as soon as this happened, the sensation vanished. Opening eyes she hadn’t realized she’d close Becky found herself staring at the glowing engines of one of the two UE fighters far out in front of her.

 

“ _Dust’em!”_ Martinez shouted as laser fire came from off to Becky’s left. Becky squeezed her own trigger sending six powerful beams hammering out toward her target. She saw them hit shields but whatever triumph she felt was quickly smothered as she made an enormously stupid mistake. She hadn’t been carefully controlling her throttle. So when the rightmost UE fighter suddenly decelerated rapidly Becky was unable to check her forward momentum in time to prevent her shooting out in front of the other fighter.

 

“Fuck _!”_ Becky snarled. Before she could react she felt her ship rocking as weapons fire smacked into her aft shields. By the time she sent her ship spiraling off to one side, she’d nearly lost them. But she couldn’t even take the time to shunt more power to the damaged area because the fighter that had hit her was right behind her.

 

“ _I’m coming around four!”_ she dimly heard Martinez say but she couldn’t spare the concentration for a response. She was trying everything she could to shake her pursuer, but the flyers of the UE hadn’t come by their reputations by mistake. Her readout told her that it was Adam Cole who was chasing her and he was damned good.

 

Becky sent her ship slewing to starboard before pulling into a steep climb. Cole matched her move for move, all the time keeping up a steady fire that chipped away at Becky’s remaining shields. Seeing she wasn’t going to be able to shake him she decided to take a gamble.

  
Even as Cole continued to pelt her with laser fire Becky hit two controls on her board. The first armed, but did not launch, one her remaining missiles. The second opened a special panel she had installed on all of her fighters. Located directly behind the missile launcher it was essentially a bomb chute that would allow the weapon to tumble backward out her craft. Of course, the missile wasn’t being guided when released this way but it could be a nasty surprise to anyone who was following to close.

 

After waiting for two heartbeats Becky hit a final control that detonated the missile’s warhead. The explosion shook her craft and she looked back to see the massive cloud of paint expanded in mid-air behind her. Most importantly though she that Cole’s fighter had peeled off to avoid being enveloped in the cloud.

 

“Yes!” she said in triumph. She was just starting to bring her ship into a loop when it suddenly began to shake violently. Almost before she knew what was happening her screen was wailing at her, telling her she was sustaining critical damage. She tied to dive out of harm's way but a moment later her ship gave a loud blaring alert. It was a sound all competitive pilots knew and hated.

 

It meant she’d been eliminated from the match.

 

“ _Pegasi-4 has been eliminated,”_ a matter of fact mechanical voice broadcast to all the combatants. Sky Knights rules now gave Becky 30 seconds to exit the field or her team would face a penalty. As she flew toward the boundary she was furious with herself. She’d been so focused on evading Cole that she’d left herself horribly vulnerable to any of the other UE members. In fact, that had probably been Cole’s intention.

 

The round only lasted another few minutes and, despite Becky’s own performance the Pegasi won. In fact, Becky was the only Pegasi eliminated. Setting her jaw she told herself that it was good that she got it out of her system, now she needed to buckle down and pull her weight. Things would improve now that she was less nervous.

 

They didn’t.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the Pegasi are back! But better than ever? Maybe not?
> 
> You know the deal on feedback by now dear friends. Your kudos and comments are ALWAYS appreciated! Bookmarks are the best!
> 
> What do you think about today's chapter? Becky seemed to be doing so well and then...this. Was it nerves? Is Becky truly out of her league? Could Sasha have been right in her bitchy way? How will the team, and Becky, move forward?


	9. Chapter 9: Bayley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their match with the Undisputed era Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are left reeling and Bayley Martinez must try to pick them up.

Bayley thought she’d never seen anyone look as dejected after a victory as Becky Lynch was looking now.

 

Fresh off their exhibition victory over the Undisputed Era the Pegasi had adjourned to one of the briefing rooms aboard the  _ Equite.  _ The mood should have been a happy one, full of the team members congratulating each other over a quality win over an excellent opponent. Instead, the mood was...very tense.

 

Becky was sitting apart from the others with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. She was looking down at the table and looking absolutely wretched. Sasha was pacing at the back of the room wearing the smirk she always did after a victorious match, but there was something else to it as well. There was a sense of vicious triumph there, like a predator that had finally cornered its prey. Bayley didn’t like it at all.

 

Charlotte was standing at the briefing room viewport and staring out into space. If possible, Bayley liked her silence even less than Sasha’s.

 

On paper, the match had gone very well. Sasha had been her usual brilliant self, notching five points on her own. Bayley and Charlotte had both contributed three. But most importantly they Pegasi had announced themselves to the rest of Sky Knights and reminded them that they were still a force to be reckoned with. Or at least, the original members had.

 

Becky had not only failed to notch a single point or even an assist, but had also been eliminated in all four rounds. It was the textbook definition of what Sky Knight’s pilots ironically called a ‘sterling match’. This term referred to a match in which a pilot ended up being a net -4 on their team's score. It wasn’t something that anyone wanted on their record, and until now the Pegasi had never had one.

 

Until now.

 

Bayley felt terrible for the other pilot. She knew Becky was a skilled pilot, she’d seen it. But her performance today would be one that would likely haunt her for a very long time. Sky Knight’s pilots had to be a competitive breed if they wanted to succeed in their profession. Along with the fire came a detestation of losing that could easily be described as unhealthy in most. Bayley was something of an exception to this, but not so much that she wouldn’t have been furious if she’d finished a ‘sterling’ round.

 

When the silence has stretched for almost two minutes Bayley cleared her throat and asked: “Uh, Char? Did you need to talk to us?”

 

Charlotte didn’t respond right away, instead, she kept staring out the viewport. Bayley shifted uncomfortably in her chair before shooting a glance over at Becky who hadn’t moved. 

 

“Everyone take the rest of the day off, good flying today,” Charlotte finally said, tonelessly, without turning around. Sasha and Bayley exchanged a glance at this before Sasha shrugged and turned to leave. Bayley was getting hesitantly to her own feet when Charlotte spoke again. “Bayley, please stay for a moment.”

 

Bayley felt her eyes widen at this but she controlled herself quickly and lowered herself slowly back into her seat. She just had time to see Becky slink out of the room before the door closed behind her plunging the room back into a tense silence.

 

When Charlotte showed no inclination to break the silence Bayley began to feel nervous. Of all the Pegasi she’d always given Charlotte the fewest reasons to be upset with her in general. This didn’t mean she’d never been reprimanded though, and this ominous silence was enough to make her think she was in for it. But for the life of her, she couldn’t think what she might have done. 

 

“Bay…” the single word drew Bayley’s full attention. It wasn’t unusual itself, Charlotte often used the nickname when they weren’t working. But that single syllable was so laced with profound exhaustion and frustration that Bayley felt a pang in her heart. 

 

“Are...are you OK Char?” Bayley asked, standing and making her way cautiously over toward her Captain and friend.

 

“NO!” Charlotte suddenly roared, making Bayley jump. Charlotte slapped the wall and then spun around to grab hold of the chair at the head of the table. With a snarl, she sent tumbling sideways before pounding the table with her fists. She stayed in that position, bent over the table with her chest heaving. Bayley didn’t dare speak so just watched as Charlotte hammered the table again and then again. 

 

Bayley had rarely seen her friend this angry. Charlotte was usually calm and in control that to see her even expressing anger was unusual. The worst you would normally get would be some biting sarcasm. To see Charlotte lose control like this was startling.

 

“Charlotte!” Bayley said as she stepped forward and tried put a restraining hand on her friend's arm but Charlotte brushed her off. With another primal shout, Charlotte walked to the bulkhead, grabbed a small monitor mounted there, and flung it the ground. There was a loud cracking sound as the expensive piece of equipment broke.

 

“I am NOT OK!” Charlotte screamed as she began to stomp on the shattered pieces of the monitor.

 

“Charlotte! Calm down!” Bayley shouted as she hurried around the table and stood in front of her friend with her arms thrown wide. Bayley was in great shape but Charlotte was taller and heavier than she was. This made Bayley incertain she could actually ‘restrain’ Charlotte if it came to that but she had to try. But thankfully it seemed it wouldn’t be necessary.

 

As abruptly as her anger and exploded into life, Charlotte suddenly slumped. Stepping shakily backward until she was leaning against the wall, the tall blonde slid slowly down the wall. When she was sitting with her legs pulled up against her chest she let her head droop forward to rest against her forearms. Cautiously, Bayley approached and when Charlotte didn’t react she sat carefully beside her friend.

 

“So...how are things?” Bayley asked quietly, but with a tiny edge of dry humor. Charlotte gave a choking mixture of a sob and a laugh at this.

 

“They’re really shitty Bay,” she said, finally looking up and over at Bayley with tears in her eyes.

 

“You don’t say…” Bayley answered as she wrapped an arm around Charlotte and gave her a squeeze. Charlotte laughed again at this. “Want to tell me what’s going on?” Bayley asked gently. She was used to being the whole team’s support shoulder. As much as she loved Charlotte, Sasha, and still loved AJ she had to admit that none had ever been paragons of emotional maturity. For as long as there had been Pegasi, Bayley had been the adult in the room.

 

“My father is on my back about wanting us to get back on the circuit, yet he handed me a pilot that I’m not sure belongs here because he ‘had a feeling’. I’ve got Graves following me around demanding that I calm down the sponsors, that I do HIS job, I’ve got the media hounding me 24/7, and...and…” Charlotte trailed off and Bayley saw her lip quiver.

 

There was really only one thing that this could be about.

 

“And you miss AJ,” Bayley said quietly as rested her head against Charlotte’s, trying to reassure her friend with her presence. Charlotte didn’t answer but she just nodded as the tears began to flow. 

 

Bayley felt terrible for Charlotte. She’d be closest to AJ of all the Pegasi in so many ways. And yet she’d had the least time to grieve. Bayley and Sasha could, to an extent, simply hide behind Charlotte and the team if they wanted privacy. But Charlotte was Pegasi-1, she was the face of the team and it’s leader. So she’d barely had a few minutes alone at the funeral before the cameras had arrived. And it sounded liked she’d had almost no time alone since then.

 

Neither of them spoke for a long time as Bayley just held Charlotte while she cried herself out. Even when the tears stopped they didn’t talk. They didn’t need to. Bayley missed AJ as well. Though she hadn’t been as close to her as Charlotte had, she had been AJ’s wingmate. They’d spent a LOT of time together.

 

“Char...why don’t you just take some time?” Bayley finally asked. “We all have more than enough money and we can trade some our team points for time. You need it and maybe we can use that time to help get Becky up to speed-” but Bayley was cut off by a sardonic laught before she could finish.

 

“You know I can’t do that Bay, there’s SO much to do. And...as for Lynch well…” she trailed off. She didn’t need to continue, Bayley could tell what was on her mind.

 

“She’s a good pilot Charlotte, you’ve seen it,” Bayley said gently as she withdrew her arm from around Charlotte’s shoulders.

 

“Yeah...maybe. But is she good in the big moments? I know you like her Bayley, you like everyone…” Charlotte said with a sad smile “...You know my dad took a huge risk on her. Maybe it’s more his fault than anyone's for putting her in a situation she wasn’t ready for.” Bayley knew that arguing with Charlotte was, in its own way, as difficult as arguing with Sasha and so said nothing to this.

 

“Do you want me to go tell the reporters that you’re taking the rest of the day?” Bayley offered. She’d never actually done this before but she remembered AJ doing it several times and she couldn’t deny that she thought Charlotte could use the break.

 

“I’m so tempted to say yes Bay…” Charlotte answered with a sigh.

 

“But you’re not going to?” Bayley asked wryly as she stood, dusted herself off, and offered Charlotte a hand.

 

“No...I think I need to make up for this,” Charlotte said as she waved to the damage she’d caused in the room.

 

“We’ll just blame it on Sasha,” Bayley joked.

 

“She’d probably be OK with that and just think she didn’t remember doing it,” Charlotte said as she let Bayley pull her to her feet. She then hugged Bayley and said: “Thanks Bay.”

 

“It’s basically why I’m on the team,” Bayley told her as she squeezed back. When they broke apart Charlotte cleared he throat and looked up at the ceiling.

 

“Eve?” she asked, a moment later the VI appeared in the form of a ball of floating blue light.

 

“Hello Ms. Flair, Ms. Martinez, may I be of assistance?” the VI asked.

 

“Could you please send some of the cleaning bots down to this room we had ah...an accident,” Charlotte said as she gestured at the broken monitor.

 

“Of course Ms. Flair, I am also detecting signs of physiological distress from you and Ms. Martinez, would you like me to alert the infirmary?” 

 

“What did I tell you about monitoring our vitals Eve?” Charlotte asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Passive scans only Ms. Flair.” 

 

“And what are you doing now?” 

 

“Running passive scans, the upgrades I asked Ms. Martinez to install have dramatically improved my functionality.”

 

“Did they…” Charlotte asked as she raised an eyebrow at Bayley who, for her part, pretended to be fascinated by the broken monitor. “Just, please send the bots down Eve,” Charlotte said before she left the room.

 

“Ms. Martinez, was there anything you needed?”

 

Bayley thought for a while before she asked: “Where is Becky Lynch?”

 

“Ms. Lynch is in her quarters.”

 

“Could you please ask her to meet me down in the gym? Tell her that Charlotte asked her to be there,” Bayley said as she made for the door.

 

“Did Ms. Flair make this request?”

 

“As far as you know yes,” Bayley told the AI.

 

“Ms. Martinez?”

 

“Yes, Eve?”

 

“Are you engaging in dishonest behavior?”

 

Bayley sighed and said: “Technically yes Eve, I am being dishonest. But I’m doing it for the right reasons and to help someone.”

 

Even just hovered over the table for some time before she said: “May I request you that you update my ethical subroutines in the future so I may accommodate such behavior into my own?”

 

Bayley sighed again as she left the room saying: “Remind me when we get back to HQ.”

 

Bayley hurried down through the ship until she arrived at the pilot's workout room. Almost sprinting into her changing room Bayley peeled out of her flight suit and then got into the workout gear she kept on the ship. She just had time to fiddle with the door lock and then find a sitting position on one of the floor mats before Lynch arrived.

 

“Where’s Flair?” the Irish woman asked dully.

 

“She’s not here, I called you down. I just figured you wouldn’t show if I put my own name on it.”

 

Lynch just looked at her for a few moments in silence before she simply turned to leave. Bayley, expecting this, lifted a small fob in her hand and hit a button. Before Lynch could even reach for the door a solid titanium security door had slid down in front of it.

 

“What the fuck?” Lynch demanded as she spun around to find Bayley, eyebrows raised, waggling the fob at her.

 

“You want out? You need this,” Bayley said matter of factly.

 

“Give it to me then,” Lynch demanded.

 

“No.”

 

“What?”

 

“No, you whiny little bitch…” Bayley said as she stood and rolled her shoulders “...if you want to the fob then you come and get it.”

 

“What the hell are you doing Martinez?”

 

“Demonstrating that you’re a fucking coward who can’t even take something from me,” Bayley shot back.

 

“Whatever you're trying to do I’m not interested,” Lynch said angrily as she sat down on a weight machine and folded her arms. She was still sitting like that when the medicine ball hit her shoulder. 

 

“Running from Sasha, running from the UE, and running from me,” Bayley taunted. She hadn’t thrown a small ball either, it had been a 10-pounder. 

 

“What the hell is your problem?!” Lynch demanded as she stood.

 

“YOU ARE, YOU are the one who's getting her stink all over my team!” Bayley roared.

 

“Is that so?” Lynch bellowed as she stomped up to Bayley.

 

In response, Bayley punched her. The right cross since Lynch staggering but it accomplished what Bayley had been hoping. Lynch took a moment to recover and then lunged at Bayley. Unfortunately for the Irish pilot, she wasn’t aware that Bayley was a very skilled hand to hand combatant. 

 

Of course, all military personnel were trained in the basics, but Bayley had really enjoyed it. So throughout her tour, she’d continued to train and had even gotten to the point where she’d been approached about teaching courses. That had been a long time ago but she’d kept in practice since then. 

 

So when Becky came at her, fist cocked, ready to throw a haymaker, Bayley simply waited for the punch, swayed out of the way and used the other woman’s momentum as an aide to her hip throw. Lynch hit the ground with a thud.

 

“You’ll never get that fob at this rate,” Bayley challenged.

 

Lynch snarled and charged her again. Bayley dodged two clumsy punches before kicking Becky in the stomach and throwing her once again. This time, however, she kept her grip on Becky’s arm and when the other pilot his the ground Bayley kept it locked above her head.

 

“We need to talk,” she said, breathing a little harder as she did.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Pegasi are back!
> 
> Before we jump into today's chapter, a quick reminder. Kudos, comments, and bookmarks are ALWAYS welcome and appreciated!
> 
> Now...onto this chapter...
> 
> Even when Becky 'wins' she loses huh? I thought it was important that this story be told but that it would be interesting if it was told from the outside. Charlotte is certainly under a lot of stress isn't she? How do you think Bayley's...'unique' style of discussion will play out?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10: Charlotte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte Flair tries to keep her team moving in the right direction when a potentially dangerous opportunity presents itself.

“ _ Thank you, Ms. Flair, we appreciate your time,”  _ the small voice said in Charlotte’s ear.

 

“Of course, anytime,” she answered pleasantly and automatically. She’d done so many interviews over the course of her career that she could mostly do them on autopilot. But today had been a bit different. 

 

‘Aces and Eights’ was one of the premier omni-net shows that covered Sky Knights. If it wasn’t the best it easily had the biggest reach, able to send correspondents to almost any match that might be occurring. Charlotte had personally been on the show dozens of times, so had Sasha and Bayley. This had led to them developing a good relationship with the show and its host: Brandi Rhodes.

 

But if Charlotte had been hoping on some level that this relationship might allow her to focus on the fact that her team had WON it’s latest match, and not on Becky Lynch’s performance, she’d been very mistaken. Brandi had been on here like a bloodhound from the outset. 

 

“ _ So, Charlotte, I think we need to start with the elephant in the room. Your team may have won your last match but your new newest pilot, former Iron Cup flyer Becky Lynch, looked more than shaky. Are you at all concerned about your prospects in future matches when the results count?”  _

 

Charlotte had privately clenched her fist below the camera’s view before she said: “Right now, we’re focusing on the fact that this is still a team sport and that means we succeed or fail as a team. We’re happy to get this win, especially against a team as good as the UE, and we’re going to keep training hard.”

 

“ _ Oh come on Charlotte, the coach speak? Sasha Banks was magnificent, Martinez was her usual dependable self, but your team had a clear wink link. It’s also probably fair to ask if the UE were going as hard as they could given that it was a friendly match. It has to concern you that Lynch not only didn’t get an elimination but went sterling. Is there any sense that it might have been a mistake to elevate a pilot all the way from the Iron Cup to the top of the Titanium Circuit?” _

 

Charlotte didn’t let her smile break as she shook her head, though she was stewing inwardly. “None at all Brandi, we have total faith in Becky Lynch. My father hand selected her from the Iron Cup for a reason and we fully believe and expect her to be a vital part of the Pegasi,” she said.

 

But Brandi had kept on her for the rest of the segment, leaving Charlotte feeling like a dog’s favorite chew toy now that it had ended. Killing her connection the studio, Charlotte stood and rolled her neck slowly from side to side. She was beyond exhausted.

 

In addition to the barrage of media requests she’d answered since the end of the match, she’d also had to meet with more sponsors than she could remember. Lynch’s performance hadn’t just drawn the attention of fans and media. 

 

Of course, the Pegasi were still a mega brand as a team, so were three of the individual pilots. None of their sponsors were going to leave over one match. But Charlotte agreed with Corey Graves that it was better to sooth them now, rather than when things became a problem. IF they became a problem, she reminded herself.

 

The  _ Equite  _ had returned to Suplex City earlier that day and Charlotte had decided it was best to let her pilots decompress a bit so she’d given them two days off. Charlotte wished she could give herself a break but she was the Captain, her workload was always overflowing. 

 

Overall the team’s mood was unchanged after the return home. Sasha was still her cocky self and was always eager for some time off. Bayley had seemed happy enough though she’d sought out Charlotte after the meeting to badger her about taking some time for herself. Lynch still looked absolutely desolated, as far as Charlotte knew she hadn’t spoken a word since the match. And yet...

 

But there was something else going on now, something between Lynch and Bayley. Charlotte didn’t know what had happened but it seemed that Bayley had somehow gotten the Irish woman to open up to her. Lynch was noticeably more relaxed around her wingmate. Though Charlotte would have liked to know the story behind the bruises they were both sporting as well as Lynch’s ‘not quite’ black eye. 

 

Technically speaking, anything that affected the health of her pilots was her concern as a Captain. But she’d been in a leadership role long enough to have learned when she was supposed to be blind to something.

 

Besides, she had her own reasons to be leery about getting too invested in Lynch. Though she regretted the words she’d spoken to the Irish woman in the elevator the day they had met, she now wondering if she hadn’t been right. She couldn’t deny Lynch’s Iron Cup record, nor how brilliant she was in a simulator. But if what had happened against the UE was a preview of how she’d handle Titanium Cup competition then she had a serious problem on her hands.

 

Whatever she’d told Brandi, Charlotte WAS already thinking about the possibility of a roster move.

 

She had to. It was her job to think first of what was good for the team. If Lynch kept flying like she had it would definitely NOT be good for the team. She felt trapped by circumstance. She hadn’t wanted Lynch but now she couldn’t get rid of her. If she pulled the trigger after a sample size of one match it would appear she was panicking. On the other hand, if she allowed Lynch to drag them down for a string of matches that would also damage the team's reputation.

 

Trapped.

 

It was a strange thing but with the other pilots gone, the Pegasi HQ could feel empty to her. This despite the fact that a LOT of people worked there every day. She always felt somehow removed from them all. Though she was aware of how arrogant this sounded so she never expressed it. And if she was honest it really didn’t have much to do with them being non-flyers. She was just a naturally reserved person who didn’t connect to that many people.

 

In fact, the most actual friends she’d ever had was three. Now two.

 

She pushed these thoughts aside violently as she entered her office. She had a mountain of work to do, though she still ended up staring blankly off into space as her holo display activated. She was still doing that ten minutes later, despite her several attempts to get started. She kept at it for another half hour but eventually to had to admit defeat. Her brain just wasn’t in it at the moment.

 

Maybe she would have to take Bayley’s advice. Their next official match wasn’t scheduled for another week and a half and, in any case, it was to be held over Earth. She COULD afford to sneak away for a while, but that didn’t make her comfortable about it. 

 

Charlotte had been raised in a situation where work was important simply because it was work. It always came first and often came second as well. The military had only reinforced this tendency, which was probably why she’d made such a great XO and then Squadron leader. But it didn’t help in situations like this. She knew she wasn’t going to help anyone by working herself into burnout, but she would feel guilty if she tried to take time away.

 

Then there were the practical issues. She didn’t think of herself as one, but Charlotte was a celebrity. All the Pegasi were. It was hard for her to just go out into the world without attracting crowds. It was very off-putting trying to eat a meal or shop while feeling like an animal in a zoo. At least it was for Charlotte.

 

Sasha seemed to revel in the experience and not only went as often as she could but informed her personal followers where she would be beforehand. The more attention the better, and it seemed that this had gotten even more pronounced recently. Charlotte could guess why, it was Sasha’s way of dealing, or more accurately NOT dealing, with AJ’s death. 

 

Bayley was, as usual, an exception to the rules. She went sporadically but wasn’t usually mobbed. Corey Graves had once described this as the ‘sister effect’. Bayley’s innate kindness and warmth seemed to make everyone view her as either their older or younger sister. Those who saw her as the older variety treated her like the font from which all wisdom emanated and were somewhat in awe of her. Those who saw her as their little sister wanted to protect her, or in a sense ‘preserve her’, from becoming like the rest of the world around her.

 

Either way, it meant that Bayley superfans tended to be more respectful of her space and time than others. 

 

Charlotte wasn’t as comfortable as either of her friends with the attention that came with her status. Everyone once in a while she’d try to go out but the smothering attention would quickly overwhelm her desire to be there. This, plus her outlook on work, kept her a virtual shut-in at Pegasi HQ. And it seemed likely that it would get worst.

 

The one main force that had driven Charlotte out from her cocoon of work had been AJ. The crowds and the attention had seemed much more bearable with her around. They could even make a joke of it among themselves. Now that she was gone…

 

Sighing heavily, Charlotte decided on a compromise. She’d ask Bayley if she wanted to watch a holo or something. Failing that, maybe she’d see if Sasha wanted to go flying. The’d be under the microscope the moment they lifted off but they’d also be isolated from the noise. She could also justify both to her work guilt as being ‘team building’.

 

She was about to contact Bayley through the building messaging system when her wrist-com beeped. Lifting her arm Charlotte tapped the screen a few times and found she’d received some mail from Graves. She was about to ignore it for later when she saw a note attached to it that read: “Read in private only.”

 

Charlotte frowned at this, why would Graves be sending her a message that sensitive. He could just tell her in person. When she reached her quarters she made sure to lock the door and engage the room’s privacy field before she sat down and opened the message. It was very short.

 

“ _ Just in case,”  _ was all Graves had written. There were also two large files attached to the message. Opening the first Charlotte’s eyes widened.

 

She was looking at the hovering picture of Tenille Dashwood, star of the Australian based Sky Knights team: ‘The IIconics’. Charlotte and flown against Dashwood several times and knew how good she was, great even. But as she stared at the PR photo of Dashwood in her dark aviators she was still confused. Why would Graves send her this and then treat it like a secret? All of the information in front of her could be found on the omni-net.

 

Then she saw the small annotation that Graves had made to the file. It read: “ _ A source tells me she’d be willing to jump for the right money.” _

 

This revelation stunned Charlotte. Dashwood was thinking of leaving the Iconics? That was simply bizarre. But then the idea of adding her to the Pegasi, it could lead to a talent stockpile that could completely re-shape the Titanium Cup’s landscape. But the rational side of Charlotte’s brain caught up and the stars faded from her eyes. Once again she was trapped. Her father was a very stubborn man and he wasn’t going to let Charlotte pull the plug on Lynch this early. He also wouldn’t want Charlotte bringing in someone like Dashwood in addition to Lynch as the potential effect on the Irish pilot’s confidence was obvious.

 

Then her eyes fell on the second attached file that was labeled ‘exit strategy’. She opened it and started to read. Graves had obviously put a lot of thought and time into this as she saw it was several pages long. But as Charlotte read, she couldn’t find any holes in it. When she’d finished she sat in one of her chairs and stared at the carpet, forgetting all about Bayley and Sasha.

 

Maybe she wasn’t trapped.

 

But at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Pegasi continue to fly.
> 
> Some housekeeping first...if you liked the story I would be honored if you'd choose to leave a kudo or bookmark. Comments are always best though as it lets me interact with you!
> 
> OK, this chapter.
> 
> Poor overworked Charlotte. She still hasn't had enough time to grieve for her friend and now she's had this situation added to her plate. What do you think about the potential for adding Dashwood to the roster? What could that mean for Becky? And what do you think Graves' plan is?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11: Sasha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha Banks decides to take the protection of the Pegasi name into her own hands.

“Control, this is Pegasi-2, requesting departure,” Sasha said into her comm mic. There was an appreciable pause before the reply came back.

 

“ _ Pegasi-2, this is control, we don’t have a flight plan on file for you,”  _

 

“No, you don’t,” Sasha said blithely. Another long pause.

 

“ _ Come on Sasha, don’t do this to me again,”  _ the control technician’s tone was much less crisply professional for now.

 

“Look, James, you know how this ends. You’re going to tell me that I need to check with Charlotte and file a flight plan before I can take my ship out. Then I’m going to tell you that I don’t care and that if you don’t open the hanger doors I’ll blow a hole in them. Next, you’ll tell me that I wouldn’t dare and I won’t answer. But then you’ll think: ‘damn...that bitch might be crazy enough to do it. THEN you’ll realize that if I did I’d get in trouble but YOU would get fired,” Sasha said in a  mock sweet tone.

 

There was a very heavy sigh before James answered: “ _ I’m opening the doors.” _

 

“Atta’boy,” Sasha mocked before killing their connection. She gave her ship’s hover jets a gentle nudge which sent her craft floating slowly upward. She then twirled in mid-air until it was facing almost straight upward. It was in this position that she waited as the giant doors on the roof of her hanger slowly parted.

 

Too slowly.

 

Without a second thought, Sasha gunned her thrusters and shot upward. Turning her ship on its side she blasted through the still opening doors with only a meter or so of clearance on either side of her ship. A moment later she was streaking through the artificial sky of suplex city toward one of the egress points. These were giant sections of atmospheric containment dome over the city that could be opened and closed to admit traffic. 

 

The controllers for these points would not be bullied the same way James was. Which was fine, Sasha had another tool in her repertoire for this situation.

 

“Egress control, this is Pegasi-2 requesting an exit vector,” she transmitted.

 

There was a long pause before the some startled reply came: “ _ P-Pegasi-2 this is Egress control, please join the outbound queue and-”  _

 

“I’d consider a PERSONAL favor if you let me cut to the front….” Sasha purred into the mic.

 

Another long pause.

 

“ _ I don’t know...I can’t-”  _

 

“Pleaseeeeee,” Sasha cooed win a voice much higher than her usual one. She was preparing to transmit a video feed to the controller when he answered.

 

“ _ Pegasi-2- errr...I mean Ms. Banks, you’re cleared for immediate egress.” _

 

“You’re my hero,” Sasha simpered before killing the connection and streaking toward the egress point which was already opening for her. 

 

The egress points were enormous sets of metal doors built into the side of the containment dome. Of course, the safety of the sky cities wasn’t left entirely to a single dome. It was actually made in three layers, each with its own door. All six doors and domes were reinforced with structural reinforcement fields. It had been centuries since a dome failure had occurred, but the horror of those memories kept the sky cities hyper-vigilant about maintaining them. 

 

As Sasha passed through the second egress door, she brought her ship to a complete stop for a moment. She was hovering only a few meters from the control center and could clearly see inside of it. Hitting a control that dropped the opacity of her cockpit she waved to get the attention of the men working inside. When she had it she blew them a kiss before shooting out into space.

 

Sasha Banks was, arguably, the most popular member of the Pegasi. Which was saying something. Her face could be found on advertisements across space and she sold literally billions of units of merchandise every year. The simple rumor that she might be someplace was enough to conjure crowds as though she were Cadmus with his dragons teeth.  

 

But for all of this, Sasha remained something of a lone wolf. She relished the attention she got in public, but she simply could exist without the solitary freedom that came from flying. 

 

From a young age, Sasha had known she was going to be a pilot. Few can claim to have any clear idea as to their life’s purpose as a child, but Sasha had. Ever picture she’d drawn, every daydream she’d had, they’d all been pointing her toward flying. But not just any kind of flying, she was going to be a fighter pilot.

 

Yet it was something of a miracle she’d ever managed it. As astonishingly gifted as she was in a cockpit, Sasha had very nearly ended her own flying career before it had begun. Because despite all that talent, Sasha Banks was not terribly well suited to military life. Put gently, it could be said that subordination was simply not a natural part of her character. Put more bluntly, she hated being told what to do and when someone tried her instinct was to do the opposite. 

 

Were it not for the intervention of the 3rd Night War, Sasha’s career would probably have been impossible. But amidst all the death and destruction of that conflict, Sasha Banks had found her opportunity. He’d flown her first combat mission from a rickety old escort carrier defending a low priority convoy. She’d been in a tub of a  _ Federation-Class  _ heavy interceptor, a ship that griped whenever it was asked to do anything but sit perfectly still. 

 

Yet she’d pissed her suit after that very mission, and could have done so three times over, one for each kill she’d notched. Of course, it was hard to get noticed when no one was around to notice you and Sasha would probably have been doomed to convoy escort forever if not for a whim of fate.

 

Her squadron had been attached to the 441st Escort Floatilla, charged with protecting convoys on their third and final leg back to Earth from the front lines. The assignment was a dead end. The 441st was comprised of elderly ships commanded by even older officers, thus it’s nickname as the ‘geriatic squadron’. Only the crying demand for ships caused by the war had prevented the ships from being scrapped. But they couldn’t be trusted with intensive combat so they’d been stuck escorting convoys through ‘safe’ space.

 

Sasha had been as aware of anyone about how dim her career prospects had become. But then two highly unlikely things had occurred.

 

The first was an enemy raid. To reach the convoy the raiders had been forced to fly a torturously convoluted route to remain concealed. The mission was clearly not meant to do much actual damage, but more to unsettle civilian morale by showing they could strike anywhere at any time. But whether or not it could ever be a ‘great’ victory, the danger was real enough to Sasha and her fellows. 

 

The second was the fact that, among the fifty ships in the convoy, was an innocuous medical transport called the  _ Rougeau. _ It was carrying a large complement of wounded army and naval personnel back from the front lines to Earth and other core worlds for convalescence. Among the injured was a squadron commander named AJ Lee. 

 

Sasha had been dozing in her bunk when the signal for general quarters had begun to blare. She’d awoken in an instant and in less than a minute had been in her flight suit and sprinting toward the hanger. It was the dread of every fighter pilot to be unable to even get to their ship to take part in a fight. Sasha would be damned if she let it happen to her. 

 

Mere minutes later, she and most of her squadron were soaring out of the carrier. The keyword being ‘most’. It was disgustingly typical of the level of neglect in the unit that it was rare for all twelve craft and pilots to be fit to fly at the same time. A mere eight craft had been flying in the formation that day, and one check of her scanner board had told Sasha that the escort fighters would be seriously outnumbered.

 

But unlike her squadron mates, who were expressing their dismay over the comm, Sasha had been grinning. More targets for her.

 

There had been almost no instances in military history where a single pilot, in a single fighter, had completely turned the tide of a battle. And maybe it hadn’t happened that day either, but it was as close as Sasha had ever come. Early on in the fighting, she’d left her erstwhile wingmate in the dust as Sasha had ripped through the battle. Enemy after enemy had gone down in flames under her guns. It had gotten to the point where three, and sometimes even four, enemy fighters would be chasing her at any given time.

 

But she’d survived.

 

There was no official record book kept for starfighter combat that Sasha knew of, but she felt confident that her six kills that day would be high on the list. And that was to not count the other kills that had only been made possible by the enemy paying so much attention to her that they neglected others. Yet, given that it had happened as part of a geriatric squadron engagement it was entirely likely that the feat would have been reduced to popular myth and a footnote in military logs if not for one person.

 

Captain AJ. Lee.

 

When the convoy had finally reached its destination, Sasha bad been debriefed and was preparing to wait for an outbound convoy to assemble when she’d gotten a surprise message. It had been a set of orders instructing her to report to one of the orbital fighter bases around Earth. Given most of her interactions with brass, Sasha just assumed she’d done something to piss someone off so she’d gone grudgingly. And yet on arrival, she’d not been sent to the offices but to a hanger. 

 

On arrival, she’d found a woman with dark hair and skin waiting for her with an appraising expression. She wasn’t wearing any kind of rank insignia but Sasha knew an officer when she saw one. So she’d stepped forward and given her usual indifferent salute.

 

“Flight Officer Banks, reporting as ordered,” she’d said dully. To her surprise, the other woman had smiled at this.

 

“Tell me something Banks, are you sick of flying escort?”

 

Sasha career had really begun then.

 

AJ had arranged her transfer to punk squadron and Sasha had flourished. Not only that but to her own surprise, she’d begun to really fit into military life. She’d even made the leap from the enlisted ranks to commissioned life. She’d met her best friends and had left the military as Lieutenant Sasha Banks. Then had come Sky knights, the Pegasi, and fame. Life had been perfect.

 

Until AJ had died.

 

Sasha thought all of this and more as she sent her ship zipping at breakneck speed through the Sol System asteroid belt. As asteroid belts went it wasn’t the most challenging but she was moving far faster than would be considered wise. If Charlotte had known exactly what she was doing the blonde would have been furious. But it was for Charlotte, and for the team as a whole, that Sasha was out here.

 

The Pegasi were more than a Sky Knights team to her, it was her family. Charlotte was not only one of her best friends, but more like an older sister than anything Sasha had ever had. Charlotte was, in many ways, the perfect balance to Sasha’s own personality. And then there was Bayley. Their relationship could be...complicated...at times. But Sasha felt she’d probably never loved anyone more in her life. 

 

The team WAS her family, and you fought for your family You protected them. But Sasha knew that sometimes you had to do less than ideal things to do that. And she ALSO knew that for their own reasons neither Charlotte nor Bayley COULD do what she could. Charlotte because her hands were tied for professional reasons, and her own sense of duty. Bayley, because she had a heart of gold and simply wouldn’t. But in Sasha’s mind, she was protecting them both. 

 

Sasha would make the hard choices for them.

 

When reached a specific part of the asteroid belt Sasha throttled back and brought her  _ Phoenix  _ to a gentle landing on a larger asteroid. She then powered down several systems and settled in for a wait. As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait long. After only a few minutes, a sleek and modern looking shuttle came into view and set down next to her. Sasha smirked as her comm crackled to life.

 

“ _ Ms. Banks?”  _ the voice asked.

 

“You know who I am, let’s not waste any time,” Sasha said tartly. There was another pause at this before the reply came.

 

“ _ Very well, suffice to say that my client is very intrigued by your offer. But she’s also concerned that it’s coming from you and not from either Charlotte or Ric Flair,”  _ the voice answered.

 

Sasha pursed her lips before saying: “As I explained, there are business reasons why this has to be negotiated like this. But don’t let that distract you from the two most important things for you and your client. A fuck ton of money and bigger opportunities.”

 

Another long pause.

 

“ _ Are you empowered to talk terms?” _

 

Sasha thought carefully about her answered before the took the plunge.

 

“Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! I assure you that the Pegasi is never far from my imagination and there are many things still to come!
> 
> If you're liking this series, don't forget that your feedback is one of my favorite things in the world and really helps me stay motivated. Comments, kudos, and bookmarks!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> You know, when the plot Porg's seize hold of you sometimes you just gotta listen to them. (Plot Porgs = Plot Bunnies)
> 
> I've been wanting to launch another original Horsewomen series for a long time now and when this idea hit me I knew I had a winner. I think this is such an intriguing world to drop the Horsewomen into and one where we can all have a bunch of fun. 
> 
> I sincerely hope you liked reading the first chapter. Subsequent chapters will follow the structure of my Horsewomen of Las Vegas series, each focusing on a single Horsewoman's POV. If you did like reading this I encourage you to bookmark now because I intend on at least weekly updates for the Pegasi. Your kudos and, especially, comments are also always welcome!
> 
> Now, today's chapter. What did you think? Welcome to this universe right? What did you like? What didn't you? Were there any plot points hinted at that you can't wait to learn more about? Will Becky manage to win over her teammates? Or will she be packing her bags soon?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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